India's Tata Motors says it remains committed to brining its Nano city car to the United States. Although the automaker's distribution plan remains a mystery, Tata says it hopes to sell the Nano here within three years.
Tata originally targeted a 2013 on-sale date for the Nano in the United States but will miss that gola. However, Tata remains committed to a U.S.-spec Nano and is promising to deliver a version of the of the city car on these shores by 2015.
"The U.S. is a very enticing market," Ratan Tata, head of the Tata Group, told Automotive News. "We are redesigning the Nano for both Europe and the U.S."
The redesigned Tata will be better equipped for the U.S.mMarket, boasting niceties like power steering and traction control. The U.S. version of the car will also have a larger engine as the current 37 horsepower two-cylinder simply doesn't have the power for our open highways.
Tata is aiming for a price tag under $10,000.
"The Smart and the Fiat 500 have high sticker prices, and people buy them because they are small cars," said Tata.. "But everyone knows you put a lot of money into it. We hope that the sub-$10,000 car has appeal."
Tata doesn't have any dealers in the U.S. so the company's distribution plans remains unknown at this point. Tata owns both Jaguar and Land Rover, but it's doubtful that the automaker would market a no-frills city car next to six-figure luxury cars. Previous rumors suggested a Tata partnership with Fiat could see the Nano sold through Chrysler dealership, but there is little evidence to support such a deal is in the works.
