India's Tata Motors unveiled the world's cheapest new car this afternoon.
The four-seater Nano, with an engine around 625cc, will have a dealer price of 100,000 rupees
Tata Group's newly launched 'Nano' car at the 9th Auto Expo in New Delhi today.
($2,500), about half the cost of the cheapest car on today's market, a 25-year old model from Suzuki.
The Nano will go on sale later this year.
"Let me assure you and our critics the car we have designed will meet all safety norms and all foreign environmental criteria," Chairman Ratan Tata said as he proudly unveiled what had been dubbed the "People's Car" at the Auto Expo in New Delhi.
Tata planned the car years ago as a safer and more affordable alternative for the millions who often ferry families of four, plus baggage, on motorbikes and scooters.
The compact but curvy Nano stands in sharp contrast to the luxury Jaguar and Land Rover brands that Tata is negotiating to acquire from Ford Motors. The car has raised environmental concerns, however.