Geneva, March 4 (PTI): Tata Motors is considering the possibility of a global licence for the production of the Nano, which when launched abroad will be positioned on the same platform as the one back home — an affordable family car.

“Every decision must be based on the demand for the car. If we cannot meet it, we will look at licensing manufacture,” chairman Ratan Tata said at the 78th Geneva Motor Show, where Tata Motors is previewing its Rs 1 lakh ($2,500) car Nano for the first time outside India.

The company is open to the idea of having franchise manufacturing units by selling licences to young entrepreneurs. Tata Motors’ upcoming plant at Singur, from where the Nano will roll out, will have a capacity of 250,000 units per annum when fully operational.

The car, the world's cheapest, is due for a commercial launch in the second half of this year, but Tata said there was no scope for reducing the price further.

“I don’t think that would be fair. We said it would be a Rs 1-lakh car. We kept the promise. We didn’t raise the price even when the cost of inputs such as steel went up,” he said when asked if customers could hope to get the Nano at an on-road price of Rs 1 lakh on account of the 4 per cent cut in excise duty in the budget.

“The Nano’s positioning is the most obvious one. It will be a very low-cost, totally safety compliant vehicle at a price that was not available earlier,” Tata said. “For the Nano in Europe and other developed markets, there will be evolution, including different versions,” he added.