The first phase of bookings for the Rs. 1-lakh 'dream car' Tata Nano began on Thursday, April 9, with crowds thronging the Tata Motors showrooms, and specially-opened booking counters in banks, including State Bank of India, which is Tata Motors' key partner in selling and receiving the booking forms.

The forms, costing Rs. 300, are also available at Tata Indicom centres, Titan showrooms, Westside and Croma stores. The booking for the wonder car - which can also be done online - will close on April 25.

The first 16-day phase for Tata Nano booking begins Thursday, April 9, and will close on April 24. With over 1,00,000 booking forms sold for the small wonder car - the 624-cc jelly-bean shaped Nano - in the past week, there will expectedly be a heavy rush for its booking too!

In spite of the heaviest booking amount ever charged in India for an automobile – Rs. 95,000 as upfront payment, or Rs.2,999, in case of getting it financed - dealers opine that at least 50 percent of people who bought the booking forms, costing Rs. 300 each, will likely book the Nano.

TATA Motors has asked for 10 months time from the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation to remove equipment from the mother plant situated in Singur.

WBIDC Managing Director, Subrata Gupta, said, "Tata Motors had written to WBIDC in November that it would require 10 months to remove the equipment from Singur."

The ambitious project of Ratan Tata was earlier planned at Singur but later shifted to Sanand in Gujarat due to stiff opposition by Trinamool Congress led opposition parties over land and compensation issue.

The overwhelming response to Tata's Nano can be gauged from the fact that there is an unprecedented customer excitement at the showrooms of car dealers for enquires as well as bookings of the small wonder! People are reportedly flocking the car showrooms to get hold of the booking forms!

However, all the frenzy surrounding Nano has put the dealers in a fix - more so as there is a constriction with regard to the production of the car, and dealers are already at their wits' ends about how to cope with the highly built-up customer demand for the reasonably-priced Nano.

New Delhi, Mar 22 : Tata Group Chairman Ratan Tata is all set to launch the world's cheapest car, Nano, on Monday.

Described as `people's car' by Ratan Tata, customers can expect to own a car at a price between Rs. 1.20 lakh and Rs. 1.30 lakh, depending on the version of Nano.

The Nano would come in three versions -- standard and two deluxe models with air conditioning.

After the launch in Mumbai, Nano would be displayed at the company's dealerships from the first week of April, while the bookings would start from the following week.

The booking amount is fixed at Rs. 70,000.

New Delhi  - Tata Motors' Nano, said to be the world's cheapest car, was set to be launched in the Indian finance centre of Mumbai Monday.

Its manufacturer hopes the vehicle will prove to be a "common man's car" and generate a strong demand from the Indian masses, local media reports said Sunday.

The commercial-roll out of the Nano, expected to be priced at some 100,000 rupees (about 1,980 dollars), comes after its prototype attracted global attention at a car show in New Delhi in January 2008.