Tata and Pachauri

New Delhi, Jan. 10: Ratan Tata today promised R.K. Pachauri sleep without “nightmares” but the pollution-slayer is not hearing a “lullaby”.

“Dr R.K. Pachauri need not have nightmares and Sunita Narain (who heads the Centre for Science and Environment) can sleep at night,” Tata said while unveiling the Nano today.

Pachauri heads the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change — which won the Nobel Peace Prize for 2007 — and has been critical of automobile policy that encourages manufacturers to flood the market with small cars that could damage the environment.

Tata Motors has dubbed Nano an affordable transportation solution with a low carbon footprint. But some experts are worried about the impact of the car on environment and urban congestion.

The Nano’s tailpipe emission performance exceeds regulatory requirements in India, and it emits lower levels of pollutants than two-wheelers. Its high fuel efficiency also means low carbon dioxide emissions, Tata Motors officials said.

“We already conform to the Bharat 3 emission standards in India. We will also meet the tougher Euro 4 emission standards,” Tata said. But others said the greater challenge would be to meet the emission norms that will be tightened considerably by 2010.

Pachauri said that while he wasn’t against the ownership of cars, the number of vehicles in India was racing towards unmanageable proportions.

“I’ve nothing against a low-cost car, but I’m worried about the impact the proliferation of such cars will have on traffic congestion and on pollution,” Pachauri told The Telegraph. “The low-cost car is not going to sing a lullaby,” he said.

India has over 60 million vehicles on the roads today, and, if current trends remain unchecked, this figure is likely to increase 10-fold to more than 600 million vehicles by 2030.

The Nano plant in Singur has a capacity of 250,000 cars, but the actual number of units to be assembled is likely to depend on demand.

Tata Motors officials have pointed out that even if the company were to annually sell 500,000 Nanos for five years, the car would account for only about 2 per cent of the total vehicle population.

Tata said the idea of a safe, affordable all-weather car for a family stemmed from the sight of families in India travelling on two-wheelers — a father, a child in front, and the mother in the back holding another child.

The carmaker has stressed on safety. “The frontal crash tests have been done and certified. The side crash tests (which are not mandatory in India) will now be done in order to meet European requirements,” Tata said.

But transportation engineers said a low-cost car was unlikely to trigger a deluge of two-wheeler families wishing to buy a car.

“People are likely to keep in mind fuel costs,” said Geetam Tiwari, associate professor of transportation at the Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi. “When a motorbike gives 50km or higher, and a car delivers 20km, fuel bills could influence decisions on whether to buy a car,” she said.