By all accounts, March 21 was an uneventful muggy Mumbai summer’s day. Steaming traffic jams were spread thickly over the city roads. Most people were sweating it out in BEST buses. Nutan Sawant was not one of them. That day she was in a car. For as long as she could remember, she had travelled on those lifelines of Mumbai: Local trains and buses. And then in October 2009, her husband Satish heard about the launch of the Rs. 1-lakh people’s car. “Last year after Diwali, I thought we could afford a small car,” he says. He was so keen that he jumped the queue by paying Rs. 15,000 to a Concorde Motors employee. March 21 was when they had to collect it. Satish and his wife went to the Concorde showroom at 10 a.m. Since Satish didn’t know driving, Concorde arranged for a driver. It was a great feeling for Nutan and Satish. They relaxed in the spacious rear seat as it glided through the tree-lined roads of Prabhadevi. They had travelled 15 kilometres when Nutan sniffed, turned towards Satish and asked the Rs. 2.26-lakh question: “Do you smell something burning?”
First Fires: In a Smoke Cloud
We got this explanation checked by another automotive expert working a large automotive company. “It is also possible in many cases that the banjo bolt case that the actual assembly of the part was not done right, that is wiring too close to a ‘hot’ part, or an improper connection, or the clip may not have been installed correctly,” he says.
Let’s face it: Tata Motors began the transition from making trucks to passenger cars in the last decade and a half. Most importantly, suppliers have to also go through that learning curve. “You need rigorous process and you need people who will follow the process. Indians revel in jugaad, and getting things done at the last minute,” says a former employee.
(This story appears in the 21 May, 2010 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)
Having a complete recall of all Nanos will not hurt Tata's reputation...and besides, people's lives are more important than Tata's reputation!
on May 21, 2010Dont just blame a quite good motivation of Ratan Tata... Nano is doing all good...
on May 20, 2010Its is the world low cost car. It was the successful car in the world. If u compare to cost and quality is good at that price. Its common for any product but ratan tata has taken that challenge and he will overcome this problem. But nano brand value is more than 4500cr above. Its created world automobile history.
on May 13, 2010Millions of reliable TATA vehicles and products have been plying and been rock solid for decades. These cases seem extremely unique and suspicious to me. Theres definitely more to this than meets the eye. I hope TATAs are investigating this stealthily as the competitors in India are pretty cut throat. BTW, Suzuki/MAruti - 51% of all money earned on that car goes straight to japan due to the partnership agreement. TATAs are leaders and all leaders will have haters. TATAs are way too cool and classy and will solve this problem. Time will tell...
on May 12, 2010Baby Steps. Thats what the Nano is. It will undergo its evolution. Even Apollo project to the moon needed 10 shuttles and untold hardships.<br /> <br /> Screw the swiss guys, they haven't built a Nano for India which is different. Nano is for India by Indians.<br /> <br /> Lets not forget even Henry Ford , Toyota and Ford had largest recalls and deaths and injuries.<br /> <br /> This is just a TATA hater article.
on May 12, 2010Competitors are sabotaging the Nano.
on May 11, 2010TATA are you listening to any of this at all. I was at the 2010 Geneva Auto Show and the TATA stall was pathetic they had a TATA Manza with its bonet open to show of their engine and I heard few Swiss guys telling about the build quality of the car and I was ashamed to stand there. TATA how dare you bring such a shabby car and present it to the world when every part of the car is so so poorly built. And to add to this the burning of the Nano car was in the local news papers in Switzerland. Wah TATA Wah
on May 11, 2010This is very much distressing news fro company of TATA. <br /> Tata has a very powerful reputation but one such incidence can ruin the whole situation. Tata has been first in many situations and will on its own rectify this sticky situation
on May 10, 2010Imho, you've left out a critical aspect in your analysis of potential problem spots in the value chain. <br /> <br /> The biggest differentiator between the Nano and other cars on the road is that it is shipped in CKD condition to dealer locations where it is assembled locally. <br /> <br /> Your automotive expert mentions that the banjo clip could be loosely installed or incorrectly placed - this seems to point to variability in assembly - something that is outside of Tata's control now - rather than the part itself. <br /> <br /> One wonders if the design of the system can be adapted to take this variability in assembly into consideration? That is, to idiot proof the placement in some way?
on May 10, 2010