New Delhi, Sunday 12 October 2008: Call it coincidence or history repeating itself, the world’s least expensive car Nano is likely to be rolled out around the time Ratan Tata celebrates his 71st birthday on December 28, just as the Indica was launched a decade ago when he turned 61.

According to informed sources, Tata Motors is working on a plan to launch the People’s Car, as Tata fondly refers to, to coincide with his birthday with about 10,000 units being readied to be rolled out from the company’s facilities in Pune and Pantnagar.

Vendor sources also said, already parts for about 12,000 units of Nano have been dispatched to Tata’s both Pune and Pantnagar facilities.

They added that initially only the base model of Nano would hit the roads this year.

When contacted for comments on the development, company officials reiterated the stated position of exploring possibilities of manufacturing Rs one lakh car at its existing facilities at Pune and Pantnagar and launch it in the last quarter of this financial year.

It may be recalled that the Indica was also launched on December 30, 1998, two days after Tata celebrated his 61st birthday.

At that time Tata had to overcome doubters, who suspected the company’s ability to make cars, considering it was only into commercial vehicle manufacturing.

Having overcome that challenge, Tata’s journey to bring about a paradigm shift in personal transportation by launching the Rs one-lakh car has also been fraught with hurdles.

Last week, the company had decided to set up its Nano mother plant at Sanand in Gujarat after it withdrew from Singur in the wake of opposition spearheaded by Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee.

(Agency)