'Nano fine, but will inspect delivered ones'

Tata Motors stated today it had concluded the investigation of incidents relating to its small car, the Nano, catching fire. The probe showed there was nothing for customers to worry, it said.

However, “to allay any concerns”, it also declared it would inspect every Nano it had delivered to a customer till date, free of cost. About 25,000 Nanos have been delivered.

Two Nanos, one each at Mumbai and Anand (Gujarat) were destroyed by fire. These were investigated by a 20-member team from Tata Motors and an independent forensic expert.

The company statement went: “The investigators’ conclusion that the Tata Nano is safe and robust is also visible in the problem-free driving experience of thousands of owners since deliveries from July 2009. The company has, notwithstanding, decided it will allay any concerns by owners by inspecting all cars with customers and, where necessary, add additional protection to ensure the car’s safety.”

Adding: “Beginning May 24, each owner will be individually contacted over the next few weeks to fix appointments for such inspections. These inspections would be provided free of cost to the customers.

As for the two fires: “The Mumbai incident in March 2010, approximately one-and-a-half hours after delivery to a customer, was found to have remnants of a foreign object on the hot exhaust system which most probably led to combustion. In the incident of the second car in Gujarat’s Anand district in April 2010, which was being delivered to a dealership, there was evidence of a ruptured fuel line,” said the company.

Tata did not clarify what was the ‘foreign object’ found in the Nano delivered from Mumbai.