Tata Motors chairman Ratan Tata has said his company was willing to help young entrepreneurs manufacture the Nano, the new mass car expected to sell for a little over Rs 1 lakh.
?Every decision must be based on demand for the car. If we cannot meet it, we will look at licensing manufacture. In order to create opportunities for manufacturers, the company can consider having franchise manufacturing units, by selling licences to young entrepreneurs to make the car,? Ratan Tata told Indian journalists on the sidelines of the 78th Geneva Motor Show on Tuesday.
Tata Motors unveiled the European model of the Nano here. He said the European version would be positioned on the same platform as the one back home?as an affordable family car.
However, Tata did not divulge the price of the Nano for European markets. Taking on some overseas rivals, who questioned the fuel efficiency of the car, Tata said, ?The Nano would provide an affordable form of transport. These are the same manufacturers who used to say that the product cannot be manufactured at this price tag.?
Ratan Tata also refused to buy the argument that the 4% cut in excise duty on small cars in Budget 2008-09 offered further scope for a cut in prices. ?The duty cut is a welcome step, but you must appreciate that we kept our promise of a Rs 1 lakh price for the Nano. This is despite steel prices going up and other car manufacturers increasing the pricetag of their cars.?
Meanwhile, Tata said he was confident of talks with Ford Motors on Jaguar and Land Rover. Ford?s John Gardiner said, ?An annou-ncement will have to wait. We are still saying early 2008.?