Tata to build higher capacity Nano engines

Tata Motors is developing higher capacity engines for its Nano car, to target domestic as well as foreign markets.

“European, African and some Asian countries have expressed great interest in Nano,” said company chairman Ratan Tata at the company’s annual general meeting here.

The company’s much publicised car was launched to cater to the lower income group, but demand from the export market has prompted it to upgrade the Nano to a higher version.

Currently, the designated factory for Nano is under construction in Gujarat and will be commissioned in January, with an annual capacity of 2,50,000 cars. The company plans to raise this to 3,50,000 in 12 months.

On the land in Singur, West Bengal, the originally planned site for manufacture, taken on lease from the state government, the company said it was willing to, if the government gave permission, transfer the land to a different company. Tata Motors had to move its plant from Singur to Gujarat after a prolonged agitation on behalf of those who had lost their land to the factory.

The company, which has been running a fixed deposit scheme to accept money from investors for its ongoing requirement, said it would be soon launching a revised one.

Answering shareholders’ query on the acquisition of Jaguar and Land Rover brands from Ford Motor Company, Ratan Tata said the company would have preferred to buy Land Rover alone.The company wanted to get into the high-end SUV segment with this acquisition. But Ford wanted to sell both the brands together.

“External factors are playing in a rather devastating manner,” said the chairman, defending the purchase of the two brands, which has impacted the overall performance of the company.