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.

Sanand (Gujarat)/Singur, Mar 21: As Tata Motors is all set to launch Nano, the world''s cheapest car, on Monday, residents in Sanand, where Tata''s new Nano plant is being set up, are upbeat at the prospects.

Residents were excited, looking forward to the jobs it would create.

"The direct benefit of the project is the employment that it will create, but there are several indirect benefits. It will create opportunities for the transport business, hotel industry and all other small businesses will get a fillip," said Ravubha Vaghela, a businessman.

Washington - US auto suppliers could get up to 5 billion dollars in US government aid as they struggle to survive the recession.

The announcement on Thursday by the Treasury Department indicated that suppliers would get a guarantee that money owed them by the major car companies for products would be paid, Bloomberg financial news service reported.

Washington  - US President Barack Obama announced a 2.4- billion-dollar plan Thursday to promote hybrid vehicles and reduce dependence on foreign oil.

The initiative allows companies to apply for grants administrated by the Department of Energy to develop better batteries for hybrid electric vehicles and related technologies and components.

Obama announced the plan while visiting electric power company Southern California Edison's electric vehicle centre in Pomona, just outside downtown Los Angeles.

London  - Britain's 2010 International Motor Show has been cancelled in view of "unprecedented challenges" faced by the motor industry in the current recession, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders announced Thursday.

Paul Everitt, chief executive of the industry body said it had been difficult to commit carmakers to the event amid continuing economic uncertainty and plunging profits as a result of plummeting car sales.

Pantnagar (Uttarakhand), Mar 19 : The Pantnagar plant of Tata Motors in Uttarakhand is all set to roll out the Nano, the 4-seater, 100,000-rupee price tag super-cheap car for the masses.

In a recent announcement, vehicle maker Tata Motors said that it would launch its Nano on March 23 and accept bookings from the second week of April.

The car, expected to be priced around 100,000 rupees, was unveiled in January 2008. It was scheduled to go on sale last October, but problems with the main plant location delayed the launch.