WHEN cars first came into existence, they were only a luxury for the super-rich.
But it was in 1913 when Henry Ford invented a new way of manufacturing cars – making them more accessible.
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His workers would focus on one section of the car and stay in the same spot all day, transporting parts along a conveyor belt.
He famously said that a moving assembly line allowed for the work to be taken to the workers, rather than the workers moving to and around the vehicle.
After plenty of trial and error, Ford made a Model T in just 90 minutes.
Other manufacturers started making vehicles with smaller price tags to make them available to middle-class families.
Since then, the low-price car market has skyrocketed, with companies battling each other for the cheapest vehicles.
Let’s take a look at some of the cheapest production cars ever made.
Tata Nano
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Tata is one of India’s largest companies and in 2008 it released a car with the ambition to be affordable to all – the Nano.
It was the brainchild of the company’s chairman Ratan Tata, who wanted to create a car cheap enough for families relying on scooters to buy.
It was sold for £1,900 in India and plenty of corners had to be cut to keep the price down.
It had no boot and the petrol cap was accessed through the hood.
It had tiny 13-inch wheels – smaller than a pizza.
Pontiac LeMans
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This car was branded the “embodiment of disappointment” by Slashgear after it failed to impress LeMans fans.
Pontiac largely built ‘muscle cars’ that wouldn’t look out of place on a film set.
The LeMans was one of the company’s most popular models for decades.
However, its sixth-generation model in the late eighties and nineties didn’t go down as well as it held no connection to previous models.
It was a front-wheel-drive and a hatchback.
Yugo GV
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The Yugo arrived in America due to car salesman Malcolm Bricklin’s dreams of importing the cheapest car.
He had dreams of selling a car for less than £3,000 and the Yugo had a wholesale price from Yugoslavia of £1,540.
Sadly for Bricklin, who was responsible for bringing the Subaru to America, this venture was a failed one.
It became known as “the worst car in history” after failing crash tests.
Yugo America went bust in 1989 and Bricklin went on to sniff out other cheap motors.
Trabant 601
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The Trabant was powered by a two-stroke, two-cylinder engine that produced 18 horsepower.
It was sold for around £2,300 as the body of the car was made from Duroplast – a type of plastic made from resin and recycled cotton.
The lack of accessories also helped to keep manufacturing costs down.
Ford Model T
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As mentioned previously, this was the first car to be made on an assembly line.
The initial price of this car was £650 back in the early 1900s, but Ford wanted to make that even cheaper.
He was able to drop the price to £200, making it the cheapest car around at the time.
Hyundai Excel
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The Hyundai Excel was the first Korean car sold in America in the mid-1980s.
It cost just under £3,800 which undercut the Japanese competition, including Mitsubishi.
The Excel began as the Hyundai Pony – which was also the first Korean car sold in the UK.
Despite getting off to a good start, Excel drivers found after a few years they started having trouble with the cars.
The widespread reports prompted Hyundai to introduce its 10-year, 100,000-mile warranty – which was an industry first.
Crosley Convertible
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Crosley first started as a company that made radios and record players. The company owner, Powel Crosley Jr. was a petrolhead and wanted to create his own vehicle.
The first was released for sale in 1939 and was powered by a 2-cylinder engine and was just over 200cm from wheel to wheel.
The roof was a removable canvas top and was on the market for just £230.
Chevrolet Spark
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This is the cheapest car on sale right now in the US and it’s been rated fairly highly as a motor.
While the engine lacks power for motorway speeds, it’s perfect for a city run-around.
The Spark has modern manufacturing and standards so it’s far safer than the original bargain cars.
