Sep 27 2010
Tata Motors investigating Nano fire incident
The Nano is marketed as a cheap car that most people can afford. However, there has been several complaints about the Nano sending off smoke from the engine. The Nano was meant to usher in a safety revolution in India, which would get millions of families off dangerous motorbikes and into the cool comfort of an affordable car, not put them in danger of being in a car that might go up in smoke at any given time.
Although Tata attributed this incident to a faulty electrical switch and said it had changed suppliers and done additional tests to rule out a recall or redesign, this incident really pushes people to think twice about cheap cars. However, some say that the Nano’s smoke and fire problems are symptomatic of pervasive quality control issues at India’s number three carmaker, which must be addressed before Tata can successfully take its brand global.
All in all, I think that Tata should focus more on the quality of the Nano as well as the safety components of the car. Despite Tata’s assurances that the Nano is “one of the safest cars on Indian roads”, these incidents really tarnish the image of the car as well as the company.