Tata to launch Nano in Thailand by year-end

The Tata Nano small car will go on sale in the Thai market by the end of this year as a completely built-up (CBU) unit, a senior executive at Tata Motors Thailand has confirmed. It seems that  the Europa may make its official debut at the 2011 December Thailand Motor show.

The Nano may be renamed for the Thai market and will get more premium features added to appeal to Thai consumers.

Nanos sold in Thailand are expected to have engines between 600cc and 900cc. In any case, performance and speed will be enhanced from the Indian spec to satisfy local buyers.

Tata Motors will use the year-end motor show to announce prices and take orders for Nano’s imported from India. “Nano cars are expected to be seen on the roads in Thailand within the first quarter of next year,” said the executive.

The Nano will be equipped with safety features like ABS, air bags and more comfort features.

The Nano would be in the range of THB 250,000-300,000 (US$ 8,200-9,900), compared to the starting price of THB 375,000 for the Nissan March eco-car.

The Nano will face competition from Honda, Nissan and Mitsubishi. Honda is scheduled to launch the Thai-built Brio eco-car at the Bangkok International Motor Show beginning on March 25th, while Mitsubishi and Suzuki will separately introduce their similar models next year. Toyota is the latecomer in the eco-car race and the timeframe has not yet been fixed. Nissan was the first to market the March in Thailand early last year.

Source: Bangkok Post