• Employees of Tata Motors work on the assembly line of the super-cheap Nano compact car in Sanand, about 40 kilometres from Ahmadabad. Ajit Solanki / AP Photo
    Employees of Tata Motors work on the assembly line of the super-cheap Nano compact car in Sanand, about 40 kilometres from Ahmadabad. Ajit Solanki / AP Photo
  • The Nano seen here in Mumbai is the world’s cheapest car. It is sold in India, Sri Lanka and Nepal. Adeel Halim / Bloomberg News
    The Nano seen here in Mumbai is the world’s cheapest car. It is sold in India, Sri Lanka and Nepal. Adeel Halim / Bloomberg News
  • India’s first small car, the Maruti 800, has been hailed as a triumph of engineering that revolutionised transport for millions and kick-started economic liberalisation in the world’s biggest democracy. Prakash Singh / AFP
    India’s first small car, the Maruti 800, has been hailed as a triumph of engineering that revolutionised transport for millions and kick-started economic liberalisation in the world’s biggest democracy. Prakash Singh / AFP
  • India’s Maruti Suzuki said on February 8, 2014 that it had halted production of its first small car, the Maruti 800, which revolutionised road transport for millions of Indians. Prakash Singh / AFP
    India’s Maruti Suzuki said on February 8, 2014 that it had halted production of its first small car, the Maruti 800, which revolutionised road transport for millions of Indians. Prakash Singh / AFP
  • The Premier Padmini was manufactured in India by Premier Automobiles from 1964 to 2000 and is based on the design of Fiat’s 1100-series cars from the 1960s. The vehicle quickly became the workhorse in Mumbai’s fleet of black and yellow taxis until economic liberalisation in the 1990s allowed different makes and models to be produced in India. With a government order banning taxis over 25 years old, the number of Premier Padmini taxis has begun to dwindle. Vivek Prakash / Reuters
    The Premier Padmini was manufactured in India by Premier Automobiles from 1964 to 2000 and is based on the design of Fiat’s 1100-series cars from the 1960s. The vehicle quickly became the workhorse in Mumbai’s fleet of black and yellow taxis until economic liberalisation in the 1990s allowed different makes and models to be produced in India. With a government order banning taxis over 25 years old, the number of Premier Padmini taxis has begun to dwindle. Vivek Prakash / Reuters
  • Media estimates in 2012 put Mumbai’s current taxi fleet at about 51,000 vehicles, of which it was estimated that about 8,000 vehicles were over 25 years old. Vivek Prakash / Reuters
    Media estimates in 2012 put Mumbai’s current taxi fleet at about 51,000 vehicles, of which it was estimated that about 8,000 vehicles were over 25 years old. Vivek Prakash / Reuters

World

In pictures: India’s motoring heritage

  • English
  • Arabic

Indian-built Maruti 800s have reached the end of the road after three decades of production. Although it will no longer be built, the Maruti 800 — like the Hindustan Ambassador and Premier Padmini — is often regarded with nostalgia among Indians. But that does not mean Indian vehicles are out of fashion as the Tata Nano is a regular sight on Indian roads.

South AsiaIndia