Tata Motors considering building its new low cost Nano as well as the Safari mid-size SUV at Fiat Group factories in South America as the India conglomerate proposes a US$15 billion investment in the region.

Tata Motors is discussing building its new ultra low cost Nano 'peoples' car, as well as its mid-size Safari SUV at two Fiat Group factories in South America as the India conglomerate proposes a US$15 billion investment in the region.

These ambition new proposals would be come in addition to the jointly-branded 'Xenon' 1 ton pick-up that Fiat is preparing to build for itself and Tata Motors at its Argentinean factory located in Córdoba. Its launch is planned for the end of this year, and it will be exported to Brazil and other Latin America markets.

According to the highly respected Brazilian economic and business magazine Exame, Tata Motors is very interested in producing the Nano and Safari in the Fiat factory at Córdoba in Argentina and the Iveco production facility at Sete Lagoas in Brazil respectively. Fiat Automóveis officially denies an agreement.

The magazine has reported in some detail the sectors that the Indian billionaire entrepreneur Ratan Tata is presently prospecting in Brazil, which, as well as automobiles, include the metallurgy, beverages and energy sectors, with the intention of investing in excess of US$15 billion dollars in these areas in the Latin American country.

Tata is India's leading industrial conglomerate, with almost one hundred companies in its portfolio, and revenues of US$50 billion dollars a year. The automobile division is one of the main focuses of attention for the company, which this month acquired two traditional British automotive brands, Jaguar and Land Rover; which it bought from Ford for approximately US$ 2.3 billion dollars. Tata and Fiat are already closely associated in the Indian market through a wide ranging joint venture, which includes production of the Palio, while shortly the Grande Punto, Linea and Bravo will be added to the locally built mix.

The two new models that could be produced by Tata Motors in Fiat Group factories in Latin America are proposed be the compact Nano at Córdoba, and the Safari SUV in the Iveco unit located in the city of Sete Lagoas. The latter is a medium sized SUV with 4x2 and 4x4 traction options, a range of 2.2- or 3.0-litre turbodiesel engines; and its dimensions are 4,650 mm long, 1,810 mm wide and 1,930 mm high. It has the capacity to carry 5 passengers.

Ratan Tata presented the Tata Nano to widespread attention from the international media at the 9th New Delhi Auto Expo in January. The car made waves after it was announced as it will be the cheapest car in the world with a base price of US$2,500 dollars on the Indian market. Projected for developing countries, Tata Motos hopes that the Nano will provoke a revolution in the new car market just as cars such as the Ford Model T, VW Beetle, Morris Mini and Fiat 500 did in their eras, allowing thousands of people in India to access an automobile for the first time. The dimensions of the Nano are typical of a highly compact model designed for urban transportation use: it is 3,100 mm long, 1,500 mm wide and 1,600 mm high. Its aluminium engine is just 2 cylinders and 623 cm3 in capacity and is positioned at the rear of the vehicle.

by Claudio Perlini