“I hope this changes the way people travel in rural India. We are a country of a billion and most are denied connectivity,” he said. “This is a car that is affordable and provides all-weather transport for the family.”

The car is the culmination of five years’ research and input from across the world, including Italy and Germany. But it was designed and made in India.

The Nano, at its most basic, is roughly half the price of the cheapest car available today. China’s QQ3Y Chery and India’s Maruti 800 are both about £2,550. The idea of millions of Nanos on the road alarms environmentalists. Rajendra Pachauri, the chief UN climate scientist, said last month that he was “having nightmares” about it.

Green campaigners point to India’s terrible road system and rising pollution levels. “Even if they claim it will be fuel efficient, the sheer numbers will undermine this,” Vivek Chattopadhyaya, an air pollution specialist at the Centre for Science and Environment in Delhi, said. “India’s infrastructure doesn’t have the capacity.” The centre estimates that the five million vehicles on Delhi roads today meet only a fifth of the capital’s transport needs. Most people travel by bus but could be convinced to buy a car at such a low price. Delhi, where air pollution levels are more than twice the safe limit, is already registering 1,000 new vehicles a day. As more cars hit the road, the average speed at peak times has fallen to 7mph, which should at least ease concerns about safety in case of accidents

As Greenpeace activists outside the show held banners demanding “Cut CO2 emissions”, Mr Tata dismissed environmental concerns. He said that his car, which does 50 miles to the gallon, would conform to all emission standards in India and Europe. “We need to think of our masses. Should they be denied the right to an individual form of transport?” he asked.

The car will be sold first in India from the second half of this year, with an initial annual production run of 250,000, but it is expected to be made available in Latin America, SouthEast Asia and Africa.

There are currently no plans to sell in Europe or North America, or indeed any other first world country... which is a shame, as this car could be used as the template for these nations to build on, imagine this car coupled with the energy cells of the big car players, making this new car an even greener solution than the Smart cars of today. Get rid of the petrol engine, and rwplace it with a smaller electric engine, add in hydrogen fuel cell and you have an amazing opportunity to create something new, exciting and meaningful. This is however a pipe dream that will never happen, so all we can do in the West is wave Tata to the Nano and hope it doesn't add to the Greenhouse effect, like all those fridge freezers leaking gas into the atmosphere on rubbish tips all over India and China.

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