Few decades before cars were considered to be one of the expensive assets. But today car market is expanding more rapidly especially in the South Asian countries. More and more people are able to buy a car, for most of them priorities when choosing a car are that it is very fuel efficient, cheap to buy and maintain, has a spacious interior and rides well enough to cope even with the poor quality roads.
At the same time people are not prepared to completely sacrifice the style and creature comforts. They want the lot. And to a greater or lesser extent, all the cars that are built today provide all of those things. Let me tell you as a buyer if you do have intentions to buy a cheap car then you should know about the various other factors such as safety considerations and fuel economy besides money. To help you out I am going to list out top ten cheapest cars available in the auto market all around the world. Here you should expect neither luxury cars nor super race cars here. You definitely would not see any Rolls Royce, Buggati, Mercedes Benz, Audi, Volvo, Ferrari, Porsche and Lamborghini in the list.
10. Tata indica eV2 eXeta:
One of the largest and oldest automotive makers in the Indian market is the globally renowned Tata motor group. All their vehicles were doing well in the car market since the time they were introduced in the country. One of such hatchbacks is the Tata indica eV2 eXeta which was first launched in 2011 and has been one of the top selling hatchbacks in the country.
The price of Tata Indica eV2 eXeta starts from $ 6036 (approximately equal to INR 3.6 lakhs). The salient features of this auto are new model of steering wheel and more attractive interior design. They do have powerful engine with good pick up. There is space limitation in the back seat for taller people.
9. Maruti Suzuki Versa:
The top car manufacturer in India designed this car to cater the needs of Indian joint families. The first version of this car was launched in the year of 2001, and the latest version of Versa launched in 2009.
This auto is priced at $5745 at ex-showrooms. Some of pros of this car are easy to park, more sitting place and higher ground clearance. Whereas some of cons are low mileage and poor look.
8. Geely MR:
It is a sub-compact car produced by the Chinese automaker Geely Automobiles since 2000. This version was introduced to woo the American customers by their cheap products, but there was no interest among the people that could not meet the U.S. safety and emission standards. Hence this was considered to be one of the floppy thing by Geely automakers. Now this car was priced at $5500 (ex-showroom price).
7. Hyundai santro Xing:
Hyundai entered the Indian market through the Santro whose main rival at that time was Maruti Suzuki. Through the endorsement of car by the various celebrities, this was an instant hit. It was undergoing number of face lifts and improvements to suit the Indian customers till the year of 2009. Currently it has been priced around $5150. This car has active intelligence technology for the fuel consumption and another lovable thing about this car is its uncompromised safety. But there is no attractive interior design. Moreover it is still a winner all the way.
6. Chery QQ3:
Each and everybody in this world have to face both best and worst situations in their life. Similarly, Chinese automobile Chery QQ faced trademark issues with Matiz. Later on the car was renamed as Chery QQ3. Now Chery QQ3 holds some records such as ‘The cheapest car of the world’ (till 2008) and ‘The most popular car in China’. Hence it has been crowned as ‘The Legend of Automobiles’ by the Chinese auto market. Presently the car is priced at $4700. The engine used here is 800 cc which is similar to the one used in Maruti 800.
5. Maruti Omni:
This is also the third cheapest car in India. This car was initially launched in the year of 1985 and still ruling the hearts of people. Over time, the car has undergone numerous changes to suit the needs of the people who love the car. It was the second vehicle manufactured by Maruti Suzuki, the first passenger vehicle was Maruti 800. Maruti Omni uses front mid-engine rear wheel drive layout. This unique aspect helps maximizing the cabin space and also provides maximum tractions. All versions of the car have sliding doors and hatches at the back. The car has an engine capacity of 796 cc. Micro van returns a mileage of 15 kmpl. The van is not only a family car but it also runs as a taxi and cargo pickup. The car is priced at $4260 by the car maker.
4. Zotye Z100:
Group formed in the year of 2005, unveiled this car in the Shanghai Auto Show held in the month of April this year. This is one of the few cars available in the market which is priced below $4000.This car has a 1.0L engine (power-27.5 kW). The car is priced at $3850 by Zotye group. The Chinese auto market believe that Z100 will become the car to have in third and fourth tier cities that is where Zotye is concentrating its activities over the next few years. The newer version of Z100 which is going to be released will have new revised prices.
3. Maruti 800:
The company which is responsible for the automobile revolution in India is Maruti Suzuki. Till 2007, it was known as Maruti Udhyog. The company was established in the year of 1981 and the first car came around 1983. It was none other than Maruti 800. Intially this was a joint deal signed between the Maruti (Indian company) and Suzuki (Japanese company). The deal made Maruti to make use of the design field available with the Suzuki Japan. In this way, Maruti 800 was born. It makes use of 796 cc engine and hence it has been named after it. It was bought by millions of Indians and they became a part of them. By April, 2012 Maruti group has decided to stop the production of Maruti 800. The only reason behind this action is to support the sales growth of Maruti Alto which is a modified version of Maruti 800. The latest version of the car was priced at $3450. The success behind this Indian car is its simplicity and reliability. The compactness and light weight of the car are few advantages of this car. Even though its production is stopped, still the car is going rounds on the Indian roads and hearts of Indian people.
2. Jiangnam Alto:
In the competition of cheapest car, the true competitors are this car and the following one. Actually, if one has the intention to buy a car which will give ‘Value for money’, then Jiangnam Alto will be the best choice because this car would be bigger, better equipped and has a steel rather the plastic body. It also has a bigger engine and can run faster compared to its counterpart Tata Nano. At the same time, it does not have air conditioner or power steering. Currently, the latest version of Jiangnam Alto is priced at $3260.
1. Tata Nano:
Literally ‘Nano’ means particle which are of size (10^-9) order. This is the car with one engine, one transmission, and one fuel option. Honestly this car is not able to pass the US emission and standard test. But the notion ‘Car at 1 Lakh’ helped it to get through the negative image. One should not forget to mention that this car is the life time vision of Ratan Tata. His strong will and determination to achieve the world’s cheapest car resulted in Tata Nano. In the development stage, the car is priced at INR 1 lakh. Now the price has been raised to $3060 due to the inclusion of booster aided brakes, upholstered seats and power windows in the previously launched version. Now the car is available in three different versions in terms of model and design. In terms of fuel both petrol and diesel version is available in the market. The boot space inside the car is very small and that has to be kept in mind while getting one of it.
One More Car about to be launched:
Recently Bajaj, India’s largest maker of three wheeled vehicles, has announced that they are in the process of manufacturing four wheeled passenger vehicle RE60 which will be the cheapest car of the world. In that case, it will replace the position hold by Tata Nano
Reva GU 