Buzz
The Tara Tiny has recently surpassed the Tata Nano to become the world's most affordable car.
Photo credit: Ritam Banerjee/Getty ImagesA few lines from The Kinks' 1979 classic "Low Budget" seem to perfectly capture the essence of Tara International's Tara Tiny: "Cheap is small, and not too steep, but best of all, cheap is cheap."
Tara International's chairman and CEO, Tara S. Ganguly, would probably disagree with the overly simplistic view of his two-seat all-electric car. He regards the Tara Tiny as a practical and affordable answer to two pressing issues: the decline of fossil fuel supplies and the escalating pollution levels [source: Tara International].
Despite its ambitious goals, the Tara Tiny remains remarkably affordable. Priced at just 99,999 rupees (around $2,400), it's exclusively available in India. This price undercuts its closest competitor, the Tata Nano, by a single rupee. The Nano, once hailed as the world's cheapest car, originally retailed for 100,000 rupees.
Although the two cars are nearly identical in price, their designs are vastly different. The Nano is powered by a conventional gas engine, while the Tiny is an eco-friendly, two-door electric vehicle (EV) that’s both budget-friendly and environmentally conscious.
While the Tiny’s $2,400 price tag likely won’t make its way to the U.S., there's more to this car than just its low cost. Continue reading to see what sets it apart from the rest and why it could be a serious contender in the expanding alternative-fuel vehicle market.
More Have Nots Than Haves: Tara Tiny Specs
Designed with simplicity, efficiency, and affordability in mind, the Tara Tiny skips on unnecessary extras. Here’s a quick breakdown of the basic features offered by the two-door, two-seat model.
- Top speed: 25 mph (40 km/h)
- Motor power: 1.5 kilowatts, approximately 2 horsepower
- Battery type: Sealed lead-acid, can be charged at home via a 220-volt, 15-amp socket
- Charging time: 8 hours
- Range: Around 50 miles (80 kilometers), depending on conditions; Battery capacity: 200 amp/hours
[source: Tara International]
Along with the features mentioned, the two-door car also includes a three-speed automatic transmission, front disc and rear drum brakes, manual seat adjustment for the driver, a driver-side mirror, fog lights, and windshield wipers. That’s the extent of it. As previously noted, extras come at an additional cost with the Tara Tiny.
Future versions of the Tiny are expected to come with four doors, four seats, air conditioning, power steering, power windows, and a sound system. The company is also planning to introduce more features—but only to a certain extent.
Although the Tiny’s design is minimalist, it aligns perfectly with Ganguly’s vision. Read on to discover how the Tiny became a marvel of minimalist engineering.
If you're searching for the world's least expensive alternative fuel vehicles, you'll likely find them in emerging markets. Why? Many developed countries have strict emissions and safety standards, which can add $5,000 to $10,000 to the price of a standard car. Add the cost of developing alternative fuel technology, and these cars could end up costing consumers an extra $20,000.
India and China, two key players in the developing world, have been innovators in transportation for centuries. Now, as their technological industries grow, smart car companies and engineers are creating a range of green vehicles. A prime example is the Kanso, developed by Indian automotive prodigy Kanak Gogoi. This two-seater vehicle runs on gasoline and energy generated by four solar panels. While the Kanso lacks a transmission, the solar panels reportedly generate 320 watts of power. How exactly the car uses these two energy sources remains unclear. However, the Kanso features a 0.1-liter engine, can reach a top speed of 30 mph (48 km/h), and could retail for approximately $3,800 [source: Khaund].
Go, Go Speed Racer: The Tara Tiny's Advantages
The Tara Tiny boasts a top speed of approximately 25 mph (40 km/h). Tara International's CEO, Tara Ganguly, doesn’t view this as a disadvantage. In fact, Ganguly envisioned the Tiny as a vehicle suited for inner-city driving, not the heavily congested highways of India. (So, road trips are probably not ideal.) On city streets, an electric car offers several advantages over traditional gas-powered vehicles.
Some of these benefits include:
- Simplicity: The Tiny is built with around 35 moving parts, whereas a comparable gasoline car typically has over 2,500 parts.
- Reliability: The Tiny's minimalistic design may make it more reliable, as fewer parts means less maintenance, fewer replacements, and less chance of failure.
- Cleanliness and Safety: Powered by batteries and an electric motor, the Tiny emits no pollution. At 25 mph (40 km/h), it’s also safer since most fatal accidents occur above this speed.
- Economy: The operating cost of most electric vehicles is only 10 to 15 percent of that of a traditional gasoline vehicle when you factor in fuel, maintenance, and repair costs. Ganguly estimates that the Tiny will cost just pennies per mile over its anticipated 25-year lifespan.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly for Ganguly, is the factor of efficiency. To explore this further, we’ll dive into the details of the vehicle’s efficiency in the next section.
An alternative fuel vehicle is any car or truck that operates on something other than regular gasoline. Some common alternative fuels include:
Compressed natural gas (CNG): Known as the cleanest alternative fuel, it reduces carbon monoxide by up to 99% and reactive hydrocarbons by 85%.
Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG): Often used in its propane form, LPG burns cleanly, producing fewer hydrocarbons and less carbon monoxide.
Electricity: Advancements in battery technology and electric motors have made electricity a leading contender as an alternative to gasoline.
Alcohol fuel: Cars with specially adapted engines can run on wood grain alcohols as an alternative fuel.
Biodiesels and refined organic oils: These are primarily used in diesel engines and are known for their distinctive smell, often likened to french fries.
Compressed air: An experimental alternative fuel that uses a tank of compressed air to power the vehicle.
The Power of the Tara Tiny
Excluding bicycles, electric motors boast the highest efficiency rate—over 90%—of any mechanical device that converts energy into motion. This means that only 10% of the energy used by an electric motor is 'wasted' in the process of moving the car. In comparison, the best an internal combustion engine can do is about 20% efficiency, which means that roughly 80% of the energy in gasoline is simply used to power the engine and send it to the wheels.
This explains why cars tend to have better fuel efficiency on highways: Once a car reaches cruising speed, it requires less energy to maintain that speed, allowing drivers to travel farther on less fuel. The area where gasoline engines consume the most energy is where electric motors shine—at the initial start-up.
As an engineer, Ganguly understood that every moving part in an engine—cranks, gears, drivelines, and differentials—must be set in motion before the rotary motion is transferred to the wheels. He also considered an engine's 'idle time,' where the engine continues to consume energy while the car is stopped, generating unnecessary movement in anticipation of the next need for power.
An electric motor solves both issues. It delivers maximum torque almost immediately. When connected directly to the wheels, that power is immediately available to drive the car forward. Additionally, when the car is stationary, there's no need to keep the motor running. It can turn off to save energy. The Tiny also incorporates a number of sealed lead-acid batteries, an electronic controller similar to a throttle, a converter, and motors.
Although Tara International has not yet released a timeline for their other vehicles, the Tiny's innovative design and simplicity might establish a new benchmark for electric vehicle usage in the years ahead.
For further details on the Tara Tiny and other electric vehicles, check out the links on the following page.
