DETROIT - Tata Technologies has announced that it will display the world’s lowest-price passenger car, the Tata Nano, for the first time in North America in Detroit on January 14.

Tata Technologies, with regional headquarters in Novi, MI, played a key role in engineering the Nano, which is produced by Tata Motors in India. It will show the car to highlight its end-to-end vehicle engineering and design capabilities to its auto industry customers and guests at its “Better Innovation” event at the Detroit Science Center.

The Tata Nano was introduced at the Delhi Auto Show in January 2009 and retails for about $2,500 in India. The model on display in Detroit is owned by Tata Technologies and is on loan from its Center for Advanced Engineering and Design in Pune, India.

“The innovative thinking that brought the Tata Nano to market is symbolic of what Tata Technologies has to offer the automotive industry,” says Warren Harris, Tata Technologies’ president and chief operating officer. “Tata Technologies was front-and-center in engineering and developing the Nano; working closely with Tata Motors and with a significant number of the Nano project suppliers.”

Tata Technologies contributed to more than 18 patents on the Nano project, according to Kevin Fisher, Tata Technologies head – global delivery. “Our work on the Nano is part of a sweeping wave of change within the automotive industry – the use of truly global engineering resources,” he adds.

Tata Technologies was involved from concept to launch on the Nano project, working on the concept, advanced engineering, body-in-white, interior, exterior and even playing a role in the innovative approach taken to manufacturing.

Tata Technologies is headquartered in Singapore, with regional headquarters offices in the United States (Novi, MI), India (Pune) and the United Kingdom (Luton). The company has a combined global work force of more than 4,000 employees serving clients worldwide from facilities in North America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region