Nano's delivery may normalise only in June

The supply of Tata Motors' much-awaited small car, the Nano, is going to be well below the demand for quite some months.

The car is to be formally launched on Monday, followed by distribution to the dealers. Bookings are expected to begin from the second week of April.

However, the main manufacturing unit, at Sanand in Gujarat, will only be ready by October-November. Till then, the car wil be manufactured at the Tatas' facility at Pantnagar in Uttarakhand. The company is examining if a new production line can be added at its Pune factory.

The first deliveries are unlikely before June. All in all, sources say, only about 100,000 Nanos can be produced in the first 12 months, well below the expected demand.

An official at Pune says the first batch of 1,500 Nanos is ready. "By the time bookings begin, we will have another 500-600 units ready for delivery," he said.

Tata Motors' in-house auto component division, Tata Auto Comp Systems, with its various subsidiaries and joint ventures, will make a little over 20 per cent of the total components used. TACO has the contracts for manufacturing and supplying batteries, interiors and door handles.

The seating systems will be made by Tata Johnson Controls, a joint venture between TACO and Johnson Controls, USA.