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Toyota, GM Working on Super-Cheap Models, Too

India's $2,500 Tata has market leaders playing catch-up

By Matt Cantor,  Newser Staff

Posted Jan 17, 2008 3:56 PM CST
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(Newser) – Work on the world's cheapest cars is underway at the world's biggest car companies, the Associated Press reports. Toyota and GM announced this week at Detroit's North American International Auto show they are working on inexpensive subcompacts similar to India's Tata Motors' $2,500 car and aimed at emerging markets. "There is a huge market for low-cost/price vehicles," Toyota's president said.

But it must be done “properly,” he says, and that could be a challenge given a price tag of $2,500. A GM joint-venture company in China has a $3,500 car in the works, and a GM VP said a car like Tata’s Nano is a possibility but would require further analysis. The Nano is scheduled to hit markets in India this year.

Toyota President Katsuaki Watanabe, left, talks to Jim Lentz, president of Toyota Motor Sales USA, before Toyota introduced the Venza at the North American International Auto Show Monday, Jan. 14, 2008 in Detroit. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)
Toyota President Katsuaki Watanabe, left, talks to Jim Lentz, president of Toyota Motor Sales USA, before Toyota introduced the Venza at the North American International Auto Show Monday, Jan. 14, 2008...   (Associated Press)
People look at Tata Motors' newly launched world's cheapest car Tata Nano, at the 9th Auto Expo in New Delhi, India, Saturday, Jan. 12, 2008. Nano, which costs US$2,500, an ultra cheap price tag, is expected to bring car ownership into the reach of tens of millions of people...
People look at Tata Motors' newly launched world's cheapest car Tata Nano, at the 9th Auto Expo in New Delhi, India, Saturday, Jan. 12, 2008. Nano, which costs US$2,500, an ultra cheap price tag, is expected...   (Associated Press)
Rick Wagoner, chairman and CEO of General Motors, speaks at the North American International Auto Show Sunday, Jan. 13, 2008 in Detroit. (AP Photo/Gary Malerba)
Rick Wagoner, chairman and CEO of General Motors, speaks at the North American International Auto Show Sunday, Jan. 13, 2008 in Detroit. (AP Photo/Gary Malerba)   (Associated Press)
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Competition in the Indian market
New York Times

... and more from the Detroit auto show
Detroit Free Press

More on the Tata Nano
The Sunday Herald

 
India • Toyota • General Motors • Detroit • cheap • Tata Motors • Detroit Auto Show • subcompact

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