Tata Nano is a rear-engined (Rear-engine design), four-passenger city car built by Tata Motors, aimed primarily at the Indian market (Transport in India#Automobiles). The car has a fuel efficiency of around convert26km/l on the highway and around convert22km/l in the city. It debuted at the 9th annual Auto Expo on January 10, 2008, at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi, India. The Nano had its commercial launch on March 23, 2009, and a booking period from April 9 to April 25, generating more than 200,000 bookings for the car. The cars started to be delivered to customers after July 17, 2009, with a starting price of Rs (Indian rupee) 100,000, which is approximately equal to UK�1,360 or US$2,160 as of200912lc=on. This is cheaper than the Maruti 800, its main competitor and next cheapest Indian car priced at Rs 184,641 ($3,988 U.S.). Tata had sought to produce the least expensive production car in the world ? aiming for a starting price of Rs 100,000 (approximately US$2,000 as of20096lc=on).

In early 2008 the news magazine Newsweek identified the Nano as a part of a "new breed of 21st-century cars" that embody "a contrarian philosophy of smaller, lighter, cheaper" and portend a new era in inexpensive personal transportation ? and potentially, "global gridlock". The Wall Street Journal confirmed a global trend toward small cars, which includes the Nano.

"Nano" means "small" in Gujarati (Gujarati language), the language of the founders of the Tata Group. "Nano" from the SI prefix for one-billionth is derived from the Greek ?????, meaning dwarf, and is sometimes used to mean "small" in colloquial English.