India's giant Tata Group unveiled yesterday a US$2,500 car it bills as the world's cheapest amid predictions the compact, no-frills vehicle could revolutionize how the country of 1.1 billion people travels.
The four-door car, which has five seats and is due to hit the market later this year costing just 100,000 rupees (US$2,500) excluding tax, is aimed at Indians hoping to trade up from a motorcycle to four wheels.
The Tata "Nano" -- which looks extremely similar to a Smart car -- has a small, rear-mounted 25kw 624cc engine.
BASICS
The basic model has no air conditioning, no electric windows and no power steering, although two "deluxe" versions will be available.
Tycoon Ratan Tata, the 70-year-old who heads the tea-to-steel group, compared the car's introduction to a landmark in the history of transportation, on the same level as the first powered flight by the Wright brothers and the first lunar landing.
The car was unveiled at the annual Delhi car show to the theme from Stanley Kubrick's classic 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey.
ALL-USE
Tata said he wanted to make "a safe, affordable and all-weather transport -- a people's car, designed to meet all safety standards and emissions laws and accessible to all."
He said that it was "a car that most people said could not be manufactured at that price" and that Tata had stuck to its 100,000-rupee target price, but added VAT would be extra.
BETTER, SAFER
He also dismissed fears the Nano -- a name supposed to be both high-tech and to smack of smallness -- would herald more congestion and pollution, arguing the new car would be better and safer than most motorcycles on India's roads.
"Let me assure you and also assure our critics the car we have designed will meet all the current safety requirements ... and will have a lower pollution level than even a two-wheeler being manufactured in India today," Tata said.
LIMITS: While China increases military pressure on Taiwan and expands its use of cognitive warfare, it is unwilling to target tech supply chains, the report said US and Taiwan military officials have warned that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) could implement a blockade within “a matter of hours” and need only “minimal conversion time” prior to an attack on Taiwan, a report released on Tuesday by the US Senate’s China Economic and Security Review Commission said. “While there is no indication that China is planning an imminent attack, the United States and its allies and partners can no longer assume that a Taiwan contingency is a distant possibility for which they would have ample time to prepare,” it said. The commission made the comments in its annual
DETERMINATION: Beijing’s actions toward Tokyo have drawn international attention, but would likely bolster regional coordination and defense networks, the report said Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s administration is likely to prioritize security reforms and deterrence in the face of recent “hybrid” threats from China, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said. The bureau made the assessment in a written report to the Legislative Yuan ahead of an oral report and questions-and-answers session at the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee tomorrow. The key points of Japan’s security reforms would be to reinforce security cooperation with the US, including enhancing defense deployment in the first island chain, pushing forward the integrated command and operations of the Japan Self-Defense Forces and US Forces Japan, as
IN THE NATIONAL INTEREST: Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu said the strengthening of military facilities would help to maintain security in the Taiwan Strait Japanese Minister of Defense Shinjiro Koizumi, visiting a military base close to Taiwan, said plans to deploy missiles to the post would move forward as tensions smolder between Tokyo and Beijing. “The deployment can help lower the chance of an armed attack on our country,” Koizumi told reporters on Sunday as he wrapped up his first trip to the base on the southern Japanese island of Yonaguni. “The view that it will heighten regional tensions is not accurate.” Former Japanese minister of defense Gen Nakatani in January said that Tokyo wanted to base Type 03 Chu-SAM missiles on Yonaguni, but little progress
NO CHANGES: A Japanese spokesperson said that Tokyo remains consistent and open for dialogue, while Beijing has canceled diplomatic engagements A Japanese official blasted China’s claims that Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has altered Japan’s position on a Taiwan crisis as “entirely baseless,” calling for more dialogue to stop ties between Asia’s top economies from spiraling. China vowed to take resolute self-defense against Japan if it “dared to intervene militarily in the Taiwan Strait” in a letter delivered Friday to the UN. “I’m aware of this letter,” said Maki Kobayashi, a senior Japanese government spokeswoman. “The claim our country has altered its position is entirely baseless,” she said on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Johannesburg on Saturday. The Chinese Ministry
RSS