The State Institute of Automotive and Driving Skills (SIADS) will be set up in a joint venture between Tata Motors and the state Transport Department in Mahuana village valuing at Rs 130 million.

The government will provide 14 acres to set up the SIADS, which would be run by a registered society with equal number of representatives from Tata Motors and the government.

It is the taxi drivers and the cab drivers that stand top on the list; many taxi drivers have postponed their plans to buy new cars and prefer to wait for the Nano’s launch, which will be in this October.

Nano was unveiled at the 2008 Auto Expo in New Delhi. The small car is enhanced with 600 cc engine and a seating capacity for four persons.

Earlier, it was Tata’s Indica and Sumo, the preferred vehicles on account of high fuel efficiency, easy maintenance, and easy affordability, but once the Nano is launched, it is going to pull all the crowds towards itself.

Tour operators and business process outsourcing (BPO) cab fleet owners feel the TATA cars provide enough power to run their operations at a lower cost. Taxi owners and cab vendors around the country swear by Tata Motors’ hatchback car, Indica, and multi-utility vehicle, Sumo.

Presently, Indica is the single largest used taxi across commercial transport in India. The diesel and compressed natural gas (CNG) versions remain the most fuel efficient hatchback in its segment. In spite of spiraling costs, Tata persistently has worked out the cost/profit ratio and has managed to stick to its Rs 1 lakh target. Taxi operators and BPO cab vendors want to have a combined fleet of Tata Indica and Micro to achieve optimum operational costs.

Nano would worst hit the auto rickshaw manufacturers. Currently, an auto rickshaw costs Rs 1.4 lakhs (ex-showroom Delhi), an Indica car costs Rs 3.5 lakhs and an ambassador car costs Rs 4.5 lakhs onwards. Auto rickshaw owners are also eagerly awaiting Nano’s release and want to upgrade their services according to the impact it will have. The advent of Indica and Sumo into the market phased out the Ambassador cars from most cities, auto rickshaws might just be the next.

However, it is yet to be known if the government will allow Tata’s one-lakh car for commercial purposes. The taxi operators are keeping their fingers crossed over the government’s decision. They hope that the small car would be a major hit in their intra-city operations and also in the tourism segment. It could also create huge employment opportunities in smaller cities.

The small car will be available in both diesel and petrol versions. The diesel version contains the new common rail direct fuel injection developed by Bosch, German leader in automotive component manufacturing, especially for the low cost cars.
The taxi fleet operators hope that the diesel version will fetch them higher fuel efficiency than any other car on road. They are expecting the small car to repeat the success of the one-ton truck Tata ACE. It was a runaway success and sells more than any other light commercial vehicle and three-wheeler and is the highest selling small utility truck in the Indian market.