Described as "people's car" by Tata chairman Ratan Tata, Nano's commercial launch marks a milestone in a journey, which was replete with controversies, hurdles and criticism from competitors.

The customers can expect to own a car coming at a price between Rs 1.20 lakh and Rs 1.30 lakh, depending on the version, although bookings will start only in April second week.

According to dealer sources, if the company keeps the ex-factory price at Rs 1 lakh, as promised by Tata, then the base model could easily have an on-road price of Rs 1.20 lakh after adding taxes such as excise duty, education cess and road tax, along with transportation cost, local taxes, insurance and registration fees and a lifetime parking fee (wherever applicable).

Tata Motors had in February appointed public sector lender State Bank of India as the sole booking agent for Nano. The booking amount is reportedly fixed at Rs 70,000.

Ever since the idea of making a car costing only Rs 1 lakh was conceived in 2003 by Ratan Tata, his dream had to face challenges. At a time when input costs were soaring, keeping the cost of production of a comfortable mini car powered by a 623cc engine giving a competitive mileage, was a big challenge.

While Tatas were able to overcome it, the group was unable to beat the political challenge from the Trinamool Congress and had to shift its manufacturing base from Singur to Sanand in Gujarat.

It not only delayed the original plans for the commercial launch of Nano by about five months, but also affected its availability. Till the Sanand facility is ready by 2010, Nano will be produced in limited numbers at the Tata Motors’ factories at Pantnagar in Uttarakhand and Pune in Maharashtra.

While critics had been sceptical about the car meeting safety and emission norms, Ratan Tata had said it would meet the Bharat Stage-III emission norms, besides the stringent Euro 4 norms. The car had also gone through a full frontal crash test as per norms.

The European version of the car was unveiled in the first week of this month at the Geneva Motor Show. The company plans to roll out the car by 2011.

The Nano is 8 pc shorter than Maruti 800 on bumper to bumper length but is 21 pc more spacious, Tata had claimed. The Nano comes with a 33 HP petrol engine. The diesel variant would also be launched soon.

The Nano would come in three variants — standard and two deluxe models with air conditioning.

Source: PTI