During the ninth Auto Expo in Delhi on Thursday, India’s Tata Motors unveiled the world’s cheapest car, Tata Nano, whose production is expected to cost no more than 100.000 rupees, that is 2.500 dollars.

Tata officials declared that the company aims to make cars affordable for millions of poorer families, while spurring a paradigm shift in low-cost transportation.

"Today, we indeed have a People's Car, which is affordable and yet built to meet safety requirements and emission norms, to be fuel efficient and low on emissions."

The 3.1 meters long, 1.5 meters wide and 1.6 meters high car was designed for a family, being able to seat up to five people, but it lacks some other features, such as radio, air conditioning or passenger-side mirror.

As it costs less than half the price of India’s cheapest car, Maruti 800, Nano doesn’t even have a windscreen wiper for the rear window, but it is expected to cause a revolution amid the international car production.

The car, which has 33 horsepower, 623 cc engine at the rear, being able to reach a maximum speed of 100 kilometers per hour, was the dream of Ratan Tata, the 70-year-old chairman of the Tata group, India's largest private conglomerate

Nano was "a safe, affordable and all-weather transport - a people's car designed to meet all safety standards and emissions laws and be accessible to all," he said, adding that it would prove a landmark in the history of transportation.

India's Commerce Minister Kamal Nath, who attended the unveiling ceremony, said "the car will help people move from two-wheeler to four-wheeler and it will leap-frog the two-wheeler." At this time, most poor Indians use two-wheelers, as nearly 8 million two-wheelers were sold in India only in 2006 and small car sales account for more than two-thirds of India's domestic market, which is expected to almost double due to the rising middle- class wages.

The car, which was tested on roads across Indian cities and rural areas, will give 20 kilometers to a liter of petrol and will be easy to maneuver.

Tata also responded to concerns about the car's safety and emissions standards, saying that Nano had passed the full frontal crash tests and meets Euro-IV emission norms.

The car, which will come in three variants, the standard and two deluxe air- conditioned models, is expected to be launched after October 1.