Twenty months since its launch and six technical snag incidents in its kitty already, Tata Motors? Nano is getting some additional safety push. The company said it will be retrofitting the car with a fuse in the electrical system and cover for the catalytic converter to avoid extensive heating in unusual circumstances.
This comes following incidents of the car catching fire, with first reported in October last year. The company is swearing on the faultless design of the Nano.
?We have undergone a second very intense research exercise looking into the vehicle, into the design, by another independent team of experts to get a second view of the vehicle. The result is the same as we had the first time. There is no problem with the vehicle and it is of a safe design. However, we have found that there are certain unusual circumstances and we have come to the opinion that we need to make the vehicle even more robust,? Tata Motors group CEO, Carl-Peter Forster on Tuesday said.
?Certain additional safety features which we are planning to add to the car include a cover to the catalytic converter so that if you drop something on it? which under usual circumstances should not happen? the car does not catch fire. Secondly, we feel we need to install a fuse in the electrical system to avoid short circuit due to electrical after sale equipment installed on the car,? he said, adding that the company is also offering engine management software upgrade to the customers.
Tata Motors in a statement on Wednesday said the company will be informing the Nano owners of the additional safety measures undertaken by the company by the third week of November. ?Option will be with the owners of the Nano on whether they would like to avail these measures,? said the company. These will be provided free of cost to the customers.
Typically, such a move by the company qualifies to a recall but Tata Motors underlines the fact that it is not recalling the Nano. ?These actions do not constitute a recall,? the company said.
As at the end of October 2010, Tata Motors has delivered over 70,000 Tata Nano cars. The company has already declared open sales in Kerala (since August 2010), and (since October 2010) in Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.