 In the biggest-ever replacement exercise in Indian automobile history, Tata Motors has asked an estimated 140,000 Nano owners to bring back their cars for change of the starter motor free-of-cost.
Vehemently denying this was a recall, the company said it was changing the old starter motor with a new and 'better' one, an exercise that will reportedly cost the firm Rs 110 crore.
"We have devised a better starter motor and so we are upgrading it in our old Nanos for improved performance. We have not received any complaint for this and this is not a recall," a Tata Motors spokesperson said. The company started the exercise in October and has already replaced the starter motor in about 50,000 Nano units, he added.
"We will change the part in all the old Nanos that were sold before launching the Nano 2012 in November," he said. According to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers data, Tata Motors had sold a total of 1, 40,428 Nano units till November, 2011, since the car's launch in 2009.
On November 21 this year, Tata Motors introduced an upgraded Nano with a facelift, a more powerful engine, better fuel efficiency and new features, while keeping the price the same, in a bid to boost sales.
This is not the first instance of the homegrown auto major asking its customers to take their Nanos to the service centre. In November, 2010, Tata Motors asked about 70,000 Nano buyers to bring back their cars to add fire safety devices free-of-cost after a series of instances of the car catching fire.
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