A lot of water has become murkier on the issue of the Rs. 1 Lakh car being manufactured by the Tata's. The area of Nandigram a rural hamlet in West bengal gained international notoriety because of this.
But leaving all the political issues behind. What will the 1 lakh car actually mean? As said by Tata will it be a boon for all the millions of two wheeler commuters who will travel in comfort and be saved from the vagaries of the elements? Or will it be a curse congesting our already bursting at seams lawless roads. Anyway the car will not be selling for Rs. 1 lakh on the road but will be somewhat nearer to the Rs. 1.5 lakh mark including all the taxes, insurance etc. it will probably be a 600 CC car with seating for four. But what about safety aspects and quality. When Tata launched their other small car Indica it had loads of quality problems which were finally ironed after a period of about 4-5 years. Indian car makers are notorious for not providing adequate safety features in their cars at the cost of low price. So how will Tata be able to incorporate them in this car with such a low sticker price.
Also Tata plans to manufacture about 1,oo,ooo cars a year of this model. So can it induce the average two-wheeler user to switch to this car. Now when average 150 cc bikes cost around Rs. 60,000 the Indian market is not very particularly price conscious anymore.
And if all the plans of Tata work out what will the result be? Roads in all Indian cities are overcrowded, congested, have no traffic rules. These cars will contribute significantly to this chaos. One more perennial problem which every car owner experiences is that of parking. Every city lacks parking spaces and the existing ones go for a premium even now. What will the situation be when these cars hit the road.
Although one aspect which can be an incentive for this car is, most of the car users use their car alone. We see single persons driving away in sedans and other big cars. With unavailability of other viable options, the electric Reva being a failure and ideas like car-pooling going for a toss here. At least if the people migrate from bigger cars to it. The current problems may get mitigated to a certain extent.
Image: A possible look of the 1 lakh car.
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