The Tata Nano, the world’s cheapest car, has been launched in India.
Costing just 100,000 rupees ($1,979; £1,366), the Nano will now go on sale across India next month, with deliveries starting in July.
Tata hopes the 10-foot (3-metre) long, five-seater car will be cheap enough to encourage millions of Indians to trade up from their motorcycles.
Tata owner Ratan Tata has described the Nano as a “milestone”. Analysts say it will not make a profit for six years.
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 We wanted a find a safe way to transport Indian families at an affordable price  Tata owner Ratan Tata
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Tata’s managing director Ravi Kant said that from the first orders, a ballot would then select the initial 100,000 people to get their Nano.
“I think we are at the gates of offering a new form of transport to the people of India and later, I hope, other markets elsewhere in the world,” Mr Tata added.
“I hope it will provide safe, affordable four-wheel transportation to families who till now have not been able to own a car.”
Environmentalists are warning that the Nano will add to India’s already clogged up roads, and pollution levels will soar. Tata says the Nano will be the least polluting in India.
