There was a time when even the top-end cars only cost around $3,000. Of course, that was when $3,000 could buy you a very nice house too. Still, these days $3,000 doesn’t get you into a very nice car, unless you get lucky. And it certainly won’t get you a new car in the United States. But it will in India.
The Tata Nano has become a huge hit practically overnight: thanks to its low cost and standard features the Nano stickers for around $2,100. The success of the Nano seems to have convinced Renault that there is a market for super-cheap cars. The French automaker is now planning a $2,500 micro car of its own.
According to Autoblog, Renault-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn mentioned during a speech at Renault’s annual meeting that they intended to produce a micro car with a price tag similar to the Nano with the help of Nissan and the Bajaj Group. Also buried in the speech was the announcement that Renault and Nissan plan on sharing 80% of their platforms and 70% of their powertrain components with each other. This is on top of Renault-Nissan’s plan to share platforms and engines with Daimler.
The alliance with Bajaj is a bit of a strange one. Bajaj is the world’s fourth largest builder and seller of two-wheeled vehicles, mostly motorcycles and mopeds and scooters. Does that mean the Nano fighter will be powered by a motorcycle engine? It is possible. The goal of the car is to be able to travel 30 km/liter, or a whopping 70 mpg. The Nano gets about 56 mpg. The Nano fighter also aims to emit just 100 grams/km. This car has apparently been in the works since 2008, so it should hopefully be unveiled soon.
Source: AutoBlog | Environmental News Network | Image: Tata
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About Christopher DeMorro
The problem for ultra cheap cars for the U.S. market is, of course, safety and emissions regulations (which are good regulations, in my opinion), so it’s very difficult for manufacturers to make them here.
The cheapest GM could do back in 2004-2008 was $9995 for the Aveo5 hatchback (w/o A/C and only AM/FM radio). That was the cheapest new car on the market at the time. With a good dealer, you might be able to get that at invoice which was around $9400 and then there were times when GM offered $1000-1500 rebates bringing the price down to ~$7900.
Still, for $7900 one could get a pretty nice used car and have a lot more luxuries and a bigger, safer vehicle, so the used-car market is another obstacle for ultra cheap cars in the U.S.
The problem for ultra cheap cars for the U.S. market is, of course, safety and emissions regulations (which are good regulations, in my opinion), so it’s very difficult for manufacturers to make them here.
The cheapest GM could do back in 2004-2008 was $9995 for the Aveo5 hatchback (w/o A/C and only AM/FM radio). That was the cheapest new car on the market at the time. With a good dealer, you might be able to get that at invoice which was around $9400 and then there were times when GM offered $1000-1500 rebates bringing the price down to ~$7900.
Still, for $7900 one could get a pretty nice used car and have a lot more luxuries and a bigger, safer vehicle, so the used-car market is another obstacle for ultra cheap cars in the U.S.
When will it be on the market?
Can we order from out of the country?
This car needs to come out on marked NOW
here in the USA, but once dealers get a
hold of it they will jack up the price
and where back where we were… with high
priced vehicles for only a majority
USA cars “new” are still too much for the
average person, Especially, with the economy the way it is… Most people cannot afford their mortgage or rent…