'Nano was meant for all our people’: Ratan Tata on the motivation behind the iconic car

Ratan Tata took to social media to reminisce about what led him and the company to produce a car like the Nano. He said that constantly seeing Indian families on scooters with the child sandwiched between the parents was the real motivation. 

“What really motivated me, and sparked a desire to produce such a vehicle, was constantly seeing Indian families on scooters, maybe the child sandwiched between the mother and father, riding to wherever they were going, often on slippery roads,” he said. 

The Chairman Emeritus of Tata Sons said that there was a benefit of being in the School of Architecture – he could try out new designs. The initial idea was to make two-wheelers safer, which as the design evolved, became a four-wheeler with no windows or doors. 

“But I finally decided it should be a car. The Nano, was always meant for all our people,” he said. 

Labeled as the ‘people’s car’, Tata Nano was unveiled on January 10, 2008. The Tata Nano was BS-III compliant when it was launched and came with an all-new 2-cylinder aluminium MPFI 624 cc petrol engine mated to a four-speed gear box and available in three variants. 

Tata had then said that “from the drawing board to its commercial launch, the concept, development and productionisation of the car has overcome several challenges”. “I hope it will provide safe, affordable, four-wheel transportation to families who till now have not been able to own a car,” he had stated. The Tata Nano standard version was priced at Rs 1 lakh. 

Tata Nano ended 2019 with zero production.

Ratan Tata, had, earlier in an interview said that architecture should have been his profession of choice. He holds a degree in architecture from Cornell University. ““I never regretted being an architect. I only regret that I was not able to practice it for long. I would have tried to become a successful architect if I wasn't leading Tata Sons,” he said during an online seminar organised by Corpgini on 'Future of Design and Construction. 

"I always wanted to be an architect because it renders a deeper sense of humanism. Also, architecture has motivated me and I had a deep interest in that field. But my father wanted me to be an engineer and I spent two years in engineering. Those years of engineering convinced me that I needed to be an architect which is where my interest really was," he had said.

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