It sounds like something...
It sounds like something Willy Wonka would dream up. But motorists hoping to buy a Tata Nano will have to enter a lottery to get hold of the worldò€™s cheapest car.
Tata came up with the sales scheme after realising demand in India was easily going to outstrip supply ò€“ there have been one million interested parties for the initial production run of 40,000 models this year.
However, even if they pick a ò€˜golden ticketò€™, buyers only secure a place in the queue at a dealership. There will still be an 18-month wait for the car. Lotto losers, meanwhile, face a delay of several years.
The high demand is due to speculation that deposits as low as 3,000 rupees (Ò£40) could secure a car ò€“ although thereò€™s also a production delay due to a planning dispute at its factory. Tata is working on a version of the Nano for Europe, due on sale by 2011. Company owner Ratan Tata, who also has control of Jaguar Land Rover, believes the global recession and desire to downsize to more eco-friendly cars could mean sales of one million Nanos a year is achievable.
Given the hype surrounding the car, rivals are not resting on their laurels. Renault-Nissan and Indian motorcycle maker Bajaj have joined forces to build a cheap compact car which is due in the sub-Continent for 2011.