Indian Company Prepares $2,500 "People's Car"

Washington DC October 15, 2007; The AIADA newsletter reported that a revolution is taking place in India that could change what most of the world drives.

The New York Times is reporting that next fall, the Indian automaker Tata Motors is scheduled to introduce its long-awaited People's Car, with a sticker price of about $2,500. Hot on its tail may be as many as half a dozen new ultra-affordable vehicles, some from Toyota and Renault-Nissan.

With a median age of just under 25 and a rapidly expanding middle class, India will overtake China next year as the fastest-growing car market. To tap that emerging market, automakers are starting to respond to Indians' desire for small and cheap cars.

If global manufacturers can figure out how to make those cars in India, they are expected to start exporting them to other fast-growing markets where the proportion of car ownership remains small — places like Southeast Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.