Rs 1 lakh car will be green: Tata

Ratan Tata believes the new small car will be one of the greenest vehicles around, according to an article published in The Times, UK.

"There are eight million two wheelers put on the road every year which pollute more and are more dangerous. If you look at the total population, the incremental emissions will be minisicule. Why are we singled out?" he said.

Tata was reponding to fears that the small car, or 250,000 of them on the Indian roads, could herald an environmental nightmare in India.

Tata, which is all set to pick up Ford's Jaguar and Land Rover, acknowledged the image disparity it would face in owning one of the automobile industry's most prestigious brands as well as producing the world's cheapest car at Rs 1 lakh.

"How a company manages products in different sectors is the key. Toyota created Lexus, Nissan has Infiniti. No one is saying 'how can BMW handle the Mini?' but they've made a huge success of it. So why is it impossible?" said Tata.

"It's amusing and ironic because nearly everyone said it could not be done," Tata said. "Some have been derogatory, some dismissive, yet all are entering this area themselves. It vindicates what we set out to do," said Tata.