Tata Nano to Be Exported to Africa, South America

The success recorded by Indian manufacturer Tata with its Nano model still haunts the dreams of the people in charge with the expansion plans of the company. We've already heard in recent months plans to bring the Nano to Europe and even the US, but now the targets seem to have shifted to more accessible, less demanding markets.

According to Freep, citing the chairman of the Indian company, Ratan Tata, the main focus are now the markets in Africa and South America. For the model to be more appealing, Ratan Tata announced a diesel version of the cheapest car in the world might be produced, as well as a bigger gasoline version of the three cylinder unit currently used.

A little over a year since the production of the Nano began, the manufacturer sold about 50,000 of them. The target is now to manufacture about 20,000 units each month, with the annual capacity to reach 250,000 cars a year at the new plant in Sanand, Gujarat alone.

To boost the sales on the Indian market, Tata also kicked off a marketing campaign, the first presenting the Nano on TV. Given the car's success, a price hike has already been announced, and will not be the only one. The reason behind the price increase is the "very sharp increase in input costs."

According to Freep, citing the head of the company, Tata spends on average $641 million each year on new products and plants. The cost of manufacturing the Nano itself has not been revealed by the chairman.