Tata, the maker of Nano has reportedly abandoned its plans to introduce the diesel variant of Nano in India, claims a new report.
Impracticality is said to be the reason behind dropping the Nano diesel plans. Tata, which has been considering the diesel version of Nano for quite a while now explained that the high cost of diesel technology impelled the company to rethink.
"There's no proposition to launch a diesel Nano at the entry level of the market," a source close to the development told ET.
Tata Nano, a dream project of Ratan Tata, chairman emeritus of the Tata group could not live up to the expectations of the maker and the auto world, due to various reasons including the cost of the car. The car that had a crash landing in the domestic market continued to have meager sales even after the introduction of upgraded versions. In the last fiscal year, the company witnessed all-time low sales of Nano, recording a plunge of 61 percent.
According to the Economic Times report, Tata feels that the demand for the petrol cars are going high in the domestic market as the gap between the prices of diesel and petrol are narrowing. At present, Nano is available in five variants which include Tata Nano STD, Tata Nano CX, Tata Nano LX, Tata Nano CNG CX and Tata Nano CNG LX. The petrol variant of the car is powered by a 0.6-litre MPFI engine, which churns out a power of 37.4 bhp and a peak torque of 51 Nm and goes for a price ranging between 
1.41 lakh and 2.58 lakh. The diesel variant of the car was to be powered by 800cc DOHC two-cylinder engine and was expected to come with a price tag higher than 3 Lakh.
The company's next offering in the Nano line up, Nano Plus is currently in the testing phase on Indian roads. The Nano Plus will draw its power from 3 pot 1.0 liter petrol engine, which is expected to give 60 bhp of power and the car is likely to host features like front disc brakes, improved aircon, bucket seats, open-able tailgate, new dashboard, LED headlamps and fog lights.
(ED:VS)
