World's cheapest car comes to U.S. in 3 years

Chris Woodyard, USA TODAY | USATODAY

It may not be a hit in India, but that sorry fact is not going to stop Tata from barreling forward with plans to import the world's cheapest car, the Nano, into the U.S.

A new, no-frills Nano will come to the U.S. within three years, Tata boss Ratan Tata tells Automotive News.

"The U.S. is a very enticing market," Tata said in an interview. "We are redesigning the Nano for both Europe and the U.S."

It may only cost around $3,500 in India, but it's going to cost a lot more in the U.S. -- about three times as much. Even at $10,000, it would still be the cheapest car in the U.S.

It would go from no frills to a few frills. The engine will grow and it could have power steering and traction control, the News says. The engine has only two cylinders at present, and produces a whopping 37 horsepower.

The Nano was created for India after Tata says he saw entire families crowded on motorcycles. The Nano has four seats. Even though there was huge interest when it was introduced, the Nano's quality came into question after highly publicized photos of them catching fire started getting passed around.