SANGAM

Nano to arrive here in July-end

SANGAM PRASAIN

KATHMANDU, JUN 24 -

Come July and the much-awaited cheapest car on the planet will be here in Kathmandu.
Sipradi Trading Pvt. Ltd, an authorised distributor for Tata Motors in Nepal, on Thursday said five Nano cars will be arriving in Nepal for a “test-drive” by July end.

“We have opened the Letter of Credit (L/C) for five Nanos,” Shambhu Prasad Dahal, chief executive officer of Sipradi Trading, told the Post. The company had initially planned to bring in the car in mid-March. Sipradi will conduct extensive trials of the car across the country as Tata Motors sells all vehicles only after testing them locally.

“We want to see how the car is suited for Nepali road conditions. All aspects need to be studied before launching the Nano commercially,” Sundaram Ragunathan, regional head, South and West Asia, Passenger Car Business Unit of Tata Motors, said.

However, those who have been dreaming of owning the cheapest car will have to wait untill January 2011 to have one. Raghunathan said Nano will be commercially launched in Nepal in 2011, the country being the first international market for the car.

According to Dahal, Sipradi will start with 10-15 cars in the beginning and increase the sales volume as per the response they will get.

Sipradi has so far received inquires on Nano from over 1,000 customers. “We normally get three-four enquiries daily,” Dahal said.

The 624 cc Nano, launched in January 2008 in India, had been priced there at IRs 100,000 making it the cheapest car in the world. However, Tata Motors has now increased the price by IRs 15,000. Nano’s price is one of the reasons why car lovers in Nepal are eagerly waiting for it.

However, Nepalis will have to pay around Rs 700,000 for a Nano. “We are planning to sell it at Rs 650,000; however, the price could near the 700,000 mark due to high customs duty here,” Dahal added.