55,021 applicants retain Tata Nano booking

India's largest vehicle maker Tata Motors announced today that 55,021 applicants, who missed out on the allotment of the first batch of 100,000 units of the world's cheapest car Nano, have decided to retain their bookings.

The announcement was made today after almost two months of the company closing the booking for the car. In all, Tata Motors received 206,703 applications for the Nano. It also said deliveries to the first batch of 100,000 applicants will begin in July and are expected to be completed by the last quarter of 2010.

Speaking to Business Standard, Prakash M Telang, managing director (India operations), Tata Motors, said: "Our production of the Nano is as per schedule, but it will be difficult to divulge absolute numbers at this stage."

The company is presently manufacturing the Nano at its plant in Uttarakhand, but production at the car's mother plant at Sanand, Gujarat will only start later this year or early next year.

"All efforts will be made to deliver (the car) earlier by ramping up production at the already operational Pantnagar plant and the fast upcoming Sanand plant," the company said in a statement today.

The company reiterated that applicants who have decided to retain their bookings will benefit from an interest of 8.5 per cent on their booking amount if the car is delivered within two years from the date of allotment (June 23, 2009) and 8.75 per cent if the car is delivered after two years from the date of allotment.

Furthermore, the company has upped the offer on the Tata Indica range to unsuccessful applicants, which will be over and above any current scheme on these cars in the market. Such applicants will also be sent discount vouchers of Titan and Westside.