Just seven months after its launch, the world’s cheapest car – Tata Nano, has received a jolt to its image. It has been reported that three Nanos recently developed short circuits in their steering wheel colu
mns, leading to minor fires. A short-circuit case was first reported in Ahmedabad last month. This was followed by similar incidents in Delhi and Lucknow this week, putting a question mark on the vehicle’s safety aspects. A resident of Delhi said that his daughter parked her Nano outside their house in the middle of the afternoon, three hours after which it was on fire. Another Nano owner from Ahmedabad had a similar experience and now says that he will not accept even a replacement of the car. Tata Motors spokesperson Debasis Ray said that the fires were caused due to a short circuit in the car’s combination switch area, and that two of the three cars have already been repaired. The company is now planning to check electrical circuits of all cars before delivery, as well as cars that have already been delivered. However, officials at Tata Motors say that they are not considering a recall as the problem is not generic. The audit will be carried out purely as a precautionary measure, they say.
