Industry News
Tata Motors may launch MDI compressed air car production next year – Economic Times
21st August 2007
The Rs 1-lakh (£1,250) car is not the only affordable car technology that Tata Motors will launch next year, believes India’s Economic Times, suggesting today that Tata has plans to start building cars whose MDI compressed air motor technology it acquired a licence for at the start of this year, as soon as 2008.
The paper says the air cars are expected to be in the same price band as the current Indica supermini range (approximately around Rs 3.50 lakh) and will probably mirror the variant developed by inventor Guy Nègre’s MDI company, called MiniCAT. The Economic Times suggests their debut may coincide with the launch of the Rs 1-lakh car, next year, but drew no comment from a Tata Motors spokesperson, beyond confirmation that the technology required ‘a couple of years’ work.
In February this year, Tata Motors signed an agreement with Moteur Development International (MDI) to source technology to develop engines powered by compressed air. These cars were developed by Guy Nègre, the French former F1 engineer, and the engines are gasoline, fuel gas, bio-diesel, liquid gas, ecological fuel, alcohol and ethanol blend compatible.
Licences to manufacture and distribute MDI-designed cars have been sold to unnamed companies in the UK, Belgium, Portugal, Spain, and the U.S., but to date only Tata Motors has indicated that it expects to launch commercial production within a period of a few years.
MDI has developed five models altogether. Its latest OneCAT prototype for developing markets is presented in three- and five-seat versions, costing an estimated €3,500 and €5,300 respectively, and emitting –from their compressed air recharges – only 30-35 g/km of CO2.
(Economic Times, www.theaircar.com)
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