Tata Nano Nigeria launch by 2010

India’s largest auto maker, Tata Motors has announced that it will launch its small car, the Tata Nano, in Nigeria in the latter half of 2010 or early 2011.

Tata Motors also plans to launch the world’s most inexpensive car in Europe sometime in the near future.

Talking about the cost of the car, Sudeep Ray, an official of Tata Africa Nigeria said, “The car (Nano) will cost NGN 357,480 (about Rs 1.16 lakh) in Nigeria, which is much less than the price of most second hand saloon cars sold here,” he said.

“Tata Motors will make the Nano available in Nigeria in the next one year to one and a half years,” he explained.

The three variants of the Tata Nano, the Tata Nano basic model, the Tata Nano CX, and the Tata Nano LX,  are currently priced between Rs 1.23 lakh to Rs 1.72 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi).

It is yet to be seen if the Tata Nano would be assembled in Nigeria or will be sold in Nigeria as a completely built unit.

“The launching of the Nano was branded everyman behind the wheel and will benefit Nigerians much as public transport systems like metro are not available here,” Ray further added, explaining the importance of this move for the average Nigerian.

The Tata Nano is likely to be sold through the existing dealer network in South Africa. Currently Tata passenger cars are distributed and marketed by Accordian Investments Pty Ltd. The commercials vehicles are distributed by ata Automobile Corporation (SA) (PTY) Ltd.

The Tata Nano was tagged as the cheapest car in the world and was launched in India on March 23, 2009. Since then the car has registered a large number of bookings already.

In the same month, Tata Motors had also revealed the European version of the Tata Nano, which is expected to hit European markets in 2011.

“The company has said that the Tata Nano can be marketed in other countries, but timelines, modes and countries are yet to be finalized,” a Tata Motors spokesperson from India was quoted as saying.

This announcement, however, does not come as a surprise as Tata Motors has been upping the marketing noise for its cars, buses and trucks  in Europe, Africa, Middle East, South Asia, South East Asia and Latin America.