Tata Motors today said it is looking to set up assembly operations for its small car Nano in overseas locations, including Asean region and Latin America.
While the company has started exports of completely built units (CBU) of the Nano to Sri Lanka and Nepal earlier this year, it is considering the option of assembling the Nano abroad through export of completely knocked down units (CKD).
“There are many important markets for the Nano, such as the SAARC countries, ASEAN nations and Latin American region. So we are studying those markets,” Tata Motors’ Managing Director, India Operations, Mr P.M. Telang, told reporters here.
He was responding to a query on whether the company plans to set up manufacturing plants overseas for the Nano.
“Looking at the potential, we can think of the CBU route at first and later we may think of CKD operations...At present we are considering many countries for CKD for Nano but there is no timeline,” Mr Telang added.
Tata Motors started exporting the Nano in April with the shipment of 498 units to Sri Lanka, the first overseas destination.
In April, Tata Industries Managing Director, Mr Kishor A. Chaukar, had said Tata Motors was “at a very high stage” of finalising a production site for its small car Nano at an overseas location, which could be either in Latin America, South-East Asia or Africa.
He had said the automobile major was exploring various options at different places and looking at uninterrupted supply chain for the components.