Lakh, or judgement?

A cheap new car from the forecourt in the UK probably starts at around £6000 or $12000. A wheel at each corner, petrol driven, CD radio, basic wiggly mirrors, airbags, no air-con, manual winder windows, two doors and probably a hatchback shape.

So this Tata Nano just launched in India is an interesting development. £1,277, if you convert the 100,000 rupees (1 Lakh) to GBP. Add on UK tax etc and I suppose it would be about £1,800. Petrolheads say it would be closer to £4,000 by the time it got to the UK, because it would need air-con and a few other modifications, like wheel bearings that can survive over 45mph and I suppose emission control, airbags, a safety shell and maybe some welding of some of the glued parts might also be needed.

Its an interesting dilemma though. Making something which is supposed to cut down the number of full family scooter outings in India, by popping them into a car with a two stroke 33bhp engine. With the increase of the new middle class in India, the transition from scooter to car is the next thing. But there's still the gap between those in families who have some form of foreign funded job (eg in the world of outsourcing) estimated at some 200 million and the other 800 million people who survive on less than 50 pence per day. Seven cars per thousand people in India, 480 in USA and 370 here in UK.

So if Tata and Bajaj (who make the Indian scooters) start pushing out Bosch-engined, non-emission managed cars for 100,000 rupees, there's going to be all kinds of knock-on effects framed in terms of the low carbon agenda, safety, crime and traffic management. Transformational - yes - unintended consequences? we shall see.

Meantime, rashbre central's motor fleet shall continue to feature a Ford Ka.

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