No, No Nano?

The world's cheapest car will have to wait.

Production of the Nano, Tata Motors' new $2,500 game-changing car, profiled by Kevin Maney earlier this year, is being delayed by protests at the Tata plant in eastern India.

The episode is a reminder that even as India and other developing have made remarkable economic gains in recent years, there remain some longstanding hurdles to business, such as infrastructure, and in the case of democratic India, sometimes messy regional politics.

The main opposition party to the Communist-led government of the West Bengal state has been protesting for two years, arguing that some farmers' land was unfairly appropriated for the plant. Demonstrations at the site have recently escalated, causing Tata to shut down work at the plant last week, citing concerns about safety.

Today, the company gave its strongest warning yet that it might have to move production. "In view of the current situation, the company is evaluating alternate options for manufacturing the Nano car at other company facilities and a detailed plan to relocate the plant and machinery to an alternate site is under preparation," Tata said in a statement.

Shifting to a new site would put off full-scale production of the Nano, originally set for October, by at least a year, the Financial Times says.

A foreign rival of Tata, General Motors, meanwhile, opened its second plant in India today, ramping up an expansion in the country.

The egg-shaped, a 33-horsepower Nano is meant to be the people's car, a Model T for 21st century India and other emerging nations.

But many in India, with two thirds of the population deriving their livelihood in agriculture, may not want drive down that road quite yet.

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