Jan. 28 – Tata Motors plans to export the world’s cheapest car—at a wallet-thanking US$3,000—to countries such as Thailand, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh this year as the small vehicle’s popularity begins to rebound in the domestic Indian market.

“We will go after these markets one after another,” said Tata Chief Executive Officer Carl-Peter Forster yesterday at an auto-industry event in Germany. “The Nano is a raw diamond that needs polishing.”

Nano sales are likely to climb to 8,000-10,000 cars a month from a current rate of 6,000-7,000 deliveries as the Indian automaker continues to expand marketing efforts and its policy of offering 100 percent financing to customers who cannot purchase the vehicle.

The Nano’s registrations in December rose to 5,784 cars from a record low of 509 in November, Tata Motors said in a statement on January 1.

The manufacturer has more than doubled warranty plans and offered looser financing to promote the model.