Diesel version of Nano likely by September
13 Jan 2011
Tata Motors will roll out a diesel version of the Nano in August or September, according to reports.
The diesel Nano could be crucial to the turnaround of the Nano brand which has taken a beating in the recent months due to poor sales, price increases and some safety concerns.
"The diesel engine will be in the 600-700 cc range like the petrol version and could be priced at a slight premium over the current variants," an unnamed vendor told The Times of India. Component makers expect the diesel Nano to have a price tag between Rs1.8-2.2 lakh.
Tata Motors refused to comment officially.
The diesel Nano will be the smallest and cheapest diesel car in the market and sport a sub-1000 cc engine, but with output and performance 20-30 per cent better than is usual for that engine size, the ToI report said.
Honeywell has developed the world's smallest turbo systems for Nano, while Bosch will fit the smallest common rail direct injection (CRDi) system. The other partners in the project include AVL, FEV and Ricardo.