I’m thinking about opening a car factory. A really small one. Tata would sell me their Nano in kit form. I’d have it assembled (using cheap Chinese labor, of course) and sell it as the Bertel car. Entirely possible. Tata may allow small car assemblers to put together its Nano and sell it under their own brand, India’s Business Standard reports via Reuters.
Tata began selling the Nano, supposedly the world’s cheapest car, this July, but so far it hasn’t been flying off the shelves, so to speak. Only 3000 were sold this October. Supposedly, it is production delays that are holding things up. Some of the cars went up in flames.
Tata is building a factory for the Nano that has an annual capacity of 250,000 units. It is expected to be ready by the end of March. Until then, it is making the Nano in smaller numbers at an existing plant.
Vice Chairman Ravi Kant said that Tata Motors might allow assemblers to set up micro-assembly sites. They can give it their own pet name. “We call it Nano, they don’t have to,” said Kant.
what’s the chance of this car passing any western national standards?
I suspect the best chance it has of meeting Federal requirements is to design out a wheel so it qualifies as a motorcycle.
I have an SRT8 engine in my shop. I want to figure out a way to hook it to a Tata Nano so I can get it to 60 is 3 seconds.
Instead, I’d rather start Robbie’s import business. I’d find the Golf/Jetta-sized car in India, the former Soviet erea, or China, made by a local manufacturer, that is just as reliable, comfortable, safe and durable as big brand name cars, but is manufactured for an amazingly low price…
Bertel,
why not just call it the egg? It looks like an egg.
Can I have a job in your marketing department? I know where the light’s just perfect for the Bertel photography.
The reason why it has had limited sales is because its original factory had to be abandoned because of a land dispute between the local government and some of its residents.
Also, the plan to allow others to assemble was officially mentioned several years ago. This is a model that is actually already in use for the assembly of buses in India.
Stick your money into making knock-off Callaway Golf Clubs or Chanel #5 or something like that – seems to be a roaring trade throughout Asia.
I would invest in this. But I think I would rather invest in Ford,
I’d go for one in that color.
Let’s see, the best division of labor is to build an Indian designed car in China? That shows where the actual intelligence and creativity is, and where the raw power of unlimited uneducated cheap labor conveniently packaged for subservient multinational use is.
It’s too bad that the US doesn’t have a closer trade relationship with India than China, but if manufacturers wanted to deal with workers that have rights and live in a democracy then they could just build in the US. India is doing a capital job of taking over the US IT, financial and legal sectors, things a bit too complex for China.
re: PeteMoran
Everyone steals from everyone. The Chinese are still waiting for the gun powder and printing press royalties (it is shocking that the China that exists now actual invented those things, I’m pretty sure that the ancestors of those innovators all emigrated to Japan, Korea, Taiwan and the US).
I know a Korean guy that complains about how he can’t get good pirated movies in South Korea anymore because South Korea had to crack down on pirating in order to position itself to complain about Chinese pirating of South Korean movies.
re: ctoan
That’s true, but particularly ironic since the Nano was designed to take lower income Indians out of three-wheeled auto rickshaws and put them into something proper with four wheels.
^That’s disgusting. The day I can’t get cheap movies is the day I repatriate.
Bertel, you throw a couple Hello Kitty stickers on the door and I know a few girls who’d be interested. The QQs with daisies on them are soooo last year.
@ no_slushbox
I’m sure the Mesopotamians want royalties for that wheel thingo too ????????
I’m thinking about opening a car factory. A really small one.
Have been my lifelong dream. I’m still thinking about how and where to do it.
Hope you’re serious about going for it. I might even offer myself to go help you for some time.
i am also interested for opening small car factory ….ple call me 9850435269
Can you buy Nano kits without engines and assemble them with Hayabusa engines?
I’d be very interested in a BS-R. Just imagine reading a manual that has been originally written by BS, then translated into Chinese and back by Babelfish.
They’d have to prove that it wasn’t in use for a few thousand years before they claimed their patent.
It’ll be an uphill battle, for sure.
This isn’t new. I am building Yugos out of my garage, now the question is who wants to buy one.
I’ve actually been thinking about it for the better part of a year. I’d start with aftermarket components though. Irony of ironies, China’s ricer market is way underdeveloped.
CR will probably give it a rave review because it’s foreign…..Puleeeze! I’m only kidding!
Bertel –
I’m in if you’ll agree to a few suggestions:
1. We dump the petrol motor and replace it with batteries and an electric motor – don’t worry much about range… that’s not an issue.
2. We seek American government funding for the start-up (see Fisker) because it’s a ‘green project’. Note that we may have to agree to put Al Gore on the board. See the news for details there.
3. We will build in Detroit. Plenty of empty car factory space around there, and we can also get funding for labor costs from agencies promoting employment opportunities for inner city residents.
We will need some staffers who can do good power point presentations, and one talkative engineer. Not much more in the way of management necessary as I’m not too worried about actually building any cars.
We can draw salaries as directors of the company. We can have loses for 5 years before we have any tax problems, so in 5 years, we’ll have to think of something new.
Build kit cars – but kit cars with good looks of your own choosing i.e. no more Gazelle and those abominations based on the 80s Camaro. ALL sorts of rules that won’t apply to your product if you open your business in the right state.
Have a friend building very WELL done kits of pleasing cars with modern drivetrains. Capable of being driven every day.
If you were going to start your own little car factory wouldn’t you want to build something more fun than a Tata? Maybe something reminiscent of those Lotus 7/Caterham roadsters? You could import the kits from England and build them here. Perhaps with the engine of your choice? Flashpoint has an engine that would work better in a roadster than a Tata.
Put the factory in Latin America and you probably will make money. China and India get most of the attention, but Latin America is the fastest growing automotive market.