Article
10155550_251304451722361_4148526735180678399_n.jpg Henk Middelkoop

Tata Nano shows real class!

In today’s world, faster and more expensive cars will always get attention. They are seen as a status symbol and are, most of the time, used just to impress others. Tata Motors provides a car for much less money which serves the poorer people on this planet. They used their knowledge not for the high end 1% of the population, but for the people in the bottom of the pyramid.

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Tata Motors, a large car manufacturer in India, introduced the predecessor of the Tata Nano, the Tata Ace truck, in 2005. Thanks to their success, they started with building an affordable car for the middle class people in India. They start producing in 2008 and planned to increase the capacity fast. The debut of the Tata Nano was a big success. Tata Motors aimed at a price of two thousand dollars, but it decreases to fifteen hundred dollars in 2012.The concept and design of the car won many prices.

What fascinates me is that this car isn’t that bad if you take the price into account. Its’s a four-door model with a maximum speed of hundred five kilometres per hour. Many luxury specifications are stripped. This means no power steering and no air conditioning. The downside is that some safety facilities as air bags are also missing. There are deluxe models of the car with these extra specifications.

This car is designed for the real poor people in the bottom of the pyramid. Their count is nearby three billion, which is absurd. This car design and production shows that a car, (still a luxury product), is also available for people who are isolated, because they are poor. When this car could be stripped down even more, it will be affordable for these people also, maybe with some help from governmental companies and help organisations. It can help them getting in social contact with family or ot

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her people, quicker access to help organisations in cases of emergency and it broadens their scope and changes on the labour market.

It can be argued that the car isn’t safe enough (it isn’t allowed on the public roads in the US) and that it will boost gas emissions because of larger sales of cars. On the contrary, it also offers a great opportunity for car companies to get in contact with a new market and help these people get involved in a society. There are possibilities to lower the price even more and it will challenge the car producers to use their knowledge for the best, both the people and the environment.

A fast and expensive car is a dream of many children, but the innovative concept of the Tata Nano gives children in the poorer parts of the world the opportunity to grow in their society and gives them a fair chance of making something of their lives. Let us focus on that goal and move aside our own pampered dreams.