India offers cheapest car on earth

By Anand Giridharadas
Published: Jan 7, International Herald Tribune

MUMBAI: There was the $400 airplane seat that plummeted to $40. Then there was the $2,000 laptop reborn for $200. And now the $25,000 car has a $2,500 cousin.
Every now and again in business history, a disruption comes along that breaks the conventional wisdom about cost, tweaking and paring features once thought untouchable.

Likewise, the $2,500 car, scheduled for introduction Thursday by the Indian company Tata, swims against the current, with a rear-mounted engine, a trunk that fits little more than a briefcase, and plastics and adhesives replacing metal and bolts in certain nooks. (Some analysts expect the car to be priced closer to $3,000, still making it the cheapest on earth.)
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photo: Ratan Tata, chairman of the Tata Group, said his car's light weight made it environmentally friendly (Abhijit Bhatlekar/Bloomberg News)