India's Tata Motors launches "Nano" low-cost car

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Tata Motors Ltd (TAMO.BO) (TTM.N), India's top vehicle maker, on Thursday unveiled its low-cost small car and said it would roll out the new vehicle, named the "Nano," later this year.

Chairman Ratan Tata drove the long-awaited car on to the stage at the Auto Expo in the capital and told the audience it would have a dealer price of 100,000 rupees ($2,500) as promised five years ago, even though commodity prices had gone up.

"That's because a promise is a promise," Tata said.

The car, a hatchback with a 624cc engine, is priced at about half that of the current cheapest car in the market, and is a sharp contrast to the luxury Jaguar and Land Rover brands that Tata is negotiating to buy from Ford Motor Co (F.N).

For additional stories, pictures and video from the Auto Expo go to here

($1=39.3 rupees)

(Reporting by Rina Chandran; Editing by Mark Williams)