Tata shooting for 80,000 Nanos by March of 2010, diesel in 2011

The troubles that Tata Motors has had in getting its Nano microcar off the ground have been well documented. After a series of protests turned violent over a land dispute between local farmers in West Bengal and the Indian automaker,, production was moved to Tata's Pantnagar facility. Despite the massive setback (Tata had almost completed construction of the main plant before moving), the Indian automaker reportedly believes that it can assemble 80,000 Nanos by March of 2010. By that time, a second plant in Sanand should be ready to go, and that would quickly become the main facility for the inexpensive car (though Pantnagar would still supplement the larger operation).

What's next for the ongoing saga that is The World's Cheapest Car? By the end of 2011, the Nano's will get a diesel engine option in addition to the standard 33-horsepower 625 cc twin-cylinder gas unit that will be powering all Nanos at launch. Also on the future menu will be such sybaritic options as air conditioning and an automatic gearbox. Thanks for the tip, Shrawan!

[Source: Indian Autos Blog]