There’s no catchy name or any other specifics, but Tata’s chairman, Ratan Tata, first mentioned his company would produce a hybrid version of the Nano in a recwent interview with a South Korean newspaper.
In a follow-up article on Reuters, the global news service, Tata said the proposed hybrid could spark a “low-price revolution that could continue across the world.”
The Nano hybrid would likely cost more than the gasoline Nano, but in theory it could less nearly 10 times less the Toyota Prius, the world’s best-selling hybrid.
In the interview in the Maeil Business Newspaper, Tata said his company is “planning to produce hybrid versions of its Nano to join in the environment-friendly trend.”
After years of planning, promotion and delayed debut dates, the Nano was first delivered to auto dealers in July
Tata also said in the interviews his automotive group was interested in Vietnam and evaluating the U.S. market, where it hasn’t yet in invested. Automobiles, software, hotel businesses and the bio fuel industry are also being considered by Tata in Brazil and Argentina.
James Raia
A sports, travel and business journalist for more than 45 years, James has written the new car review column The Weekly Driver since 2004. In addition to founding this site in 2004, James writes a Sunday automotive column for The San Jose Mercury and East Bay Times in Walnut Creek, Calif., and monthly auto review and wellness columns for Gulfshore Business, a magazine in Southwest Florida. An author and contributor to many newspapers, magazines and online publications, co-hosted The Weekly Driver Podcast from 2017 to 2024.