Nano - Nano (English spelling)

Japanese: ナノ - なの（英語表記）nano

A low-cost passenger car to be released in India by Indian automaker Tata Motors. It was announced in 2008 as a 100,000 rupee car, which caused quite a stir (about 280,000 yen at the exchange rate at the time). Due to subsequent changes in the economic situation, etc., the new Nano, the cheapest model priced at about 110,000 rupees, was made available for pre-order in April 2009. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in July. The company is also considering expanding the Nano into European and American markets.
In India, an automobile company under the umbrella of the Japanese automobile manufacturer Suzuki has increased sales of small cars such as the Maruti 800, which is based on the light car Alto, and the number of new car sales has surpassed Suzuki's sales in Japan. Behind this lies the purchasing power of the "middle class" workers, who are said to have exceeded 200 million people due to the rapid growth of the Indian economy and earn more than $2,000 a year. The price of the Nano is almost half that of the Maruti 800, which is about the same as the annual income of the "middle class." As Tata Chairman Ratan stated, "We can provide a comfortable and safe four-wheeled vehicle for those who have not been able to own a car until now," it is expected to bring about a major revolution in the Indian automobile market.
The Nano is fitted with a 624cc two-cylinder gasoline engine at the rear, and drives the rear wheels in a rear-engine, rear-wheel drive configuration. Only a four-speed manual transmission is available, and audio and air conditioning are optional on the cheapest model. Its fuel economy of 23.6km/liter and CO2 emissions of 101g/km are among the best in India. Its performance is nominally comparable to that of Japanese minicars, but the low price was achieved through thorough cost cutting. When the numbers were tallied in May 2009, only 200,000 reservations had been made, far below the initial estimate of 500,000, but half of those were for the top-of-the-line model. As the new factory is not yet operational, 100,000 units will be produced as originally planned and allocated by lottery.

(Writer Toshihide Kanaya / 2009)

Source : "Chiezo" published by Asahi Shimbun Publications Co., Ltd. About Chiezo

Japanese:

インドの自動車メーカー、タタ・モーターズがインド国内で発売する低価格乗用車。2008年に10万ルピー・カーとの触れ込みで公表され大きな話題になった(当時の為替レートで約28万円)。その後の経済情勢などの変化により、最安値モデルで価格約11万ルピーの新型「ナノ」が09年4月に予約販売された。納車の予定は7月から。同社は「ナノ」の欧米市場への進出も検討している。
インドでは、日本の自動車メーカー、スズキ傘下の自動車会社が、軽自動車アルトをベースにしたマルチ800などの小型自動車の販売実績を伸ばし、新車販売台数はスズキの日本国内の販売台数をしのぐほどになっている。この背景には、インド経済の急成長によって2億人を超えたといわれる、年収2千ドルを上回る「中間層」の勤労者の購買力がある。ナノの価格はマルチ800のほぼ半額で「中間層」の年収程度。タタのラタン会長が「これまで車を所有できなかった層に、4輪車の快適で安全な移動空間を提供できる」と述べるように、インドの自動車市場に大きな変革をもたらすと考えられている。
ナノは624ccの2気筒ガソリンエンジンを後部に搭載し後輪を駆動するRR方式。トランスミッションは4速MTのみで、最安値モデルではオーディオやエアコンなどはオプションとなる。燃費23.6km/リットル、CO2排出量101g/kmはインドでは最高水準。性能は日本の軽自動車と比較しても名目上大きくは見劣りしないが、徹底したコスト削減で低価格を達成したという。09年5月の集計で予約申し込みは、当初見込みの50万件を大きく下回る20万件にとどまったものの最上位モデルが半数を占めた。新工場の稼働がまだなので、当初の計画通り10万台を生産し抽選によって割り当てる。

(金谷俊秀ライター／ 2009年)

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