Auto major Tata Motors today said it has selected over 1.55 lakh customers for its small-car Nano — touted as the world's cheapest — which the company will start delivering from next month.
The company would deliver the first 1 lakh cars by March 2010, while the handing over of the Nanos in the next phase to 55,021 customers would start thereafter.
"Tata Motors is pleased to announce that it has completed the process to select the first 1,00,000 owners of the Tata Nano from among 2,06,703 final list of applicants, who had booked the car," the company said in a statement.
The company has also completed the selection process for the second phase by alloting slots to 55,021 customers.
The entire selection process was done through a computerised lottery, it added.
"Tata Motors reconfirms that the first 1 lakh owners are price-protected, and will get their Tata Nano at the ex- showroom prices, announced at launch on March 23," it said.
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"All efforts will be made to deliver earlier, by ramping up production at the already operational Pantnagar plant and the fast upcoming Sanand plant," Tata Motors said.
Of the total booking, about 67 per cent of the applicants (1,37,867 people) had intended to retain their bookings in case they are not selected in the first draw.
"The booking amounts of the unsuccessful applicants, who had not exercised this option (to retain the bookings), are being returned," Tata Motors said.
The booking amount was Rs 95,000 for the base model, Rs 1.2 lakh for the mid-range model and Rs 1.4 lakh for the top- end car across the country.
The company said the retainees would be offered 8.5 per cent interest on the booking amount if the car is delivered within two years from the date of allotment and 8.75 per cent if the car is delivered after two years from the date.
"The interest will be paid directly to the retainees by Tata Motors," it added.
Tata Motors has offered the unsuccessful applicants some schemes for its hatchback 'Indica' range, which would be additional to the existing schemes on the cars.
Conceived in 2003, Tata Motors had launched the much-hyped Rs 1-lakh car on March 23 this year. It has cost over Rs 2,000 crore.
The booking for the 623-cc rear-engine car, boasting a fuel economy of over 23 km per litre, had opened on April 9 and closed on April 25.
Nano would have a price range of Rs 1.23 lakh to Rs 1.72 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi) for the three different variants.
The company would roll out the Nanos from its Pantnagar facility, which has an annual capacity of 50,000 units. The car would also be produced from the company's Sanand unit in Gujarat once its goes on stream.