Tata Motors is changing starter motors on all pre 2012 Nanos but isn’t calling it a recall

Tata Nano | Mark Spencer | January 12, 2012 at 5:10 AM

The car manufacturing firms are under great pressure these days. For with the increase in demands, they not only have to keep producing new cars but also update the already existing ones. However, updating an existing model or issuing a recall — as its technically termed can be considered a risky job. In this case the firm can neither escape nor get rid of its task. It requires an immediate downpour of cash. The recalls are feared the most because it hits the companies in their weakest point i.e. their bottom-line. Thus it is not surprising to see the companies go a bit reticent with the recalls.

The case seems to be a bit different in India than the western markets. Product retrievals are considered to be novel here unlike the western parts where the recalls constitute the part of management case studies these days. The famous foreign recalls were by Johnson and Johnson in the early 1980s and the Firestone and Bridgestone. The Indian product recalls are however fewer and have lesser impacts and the credit would surely go to the Indian customers who are unaware of the customer’s rights. They don’t seem to pay much attention on the defects. Another reason would be that India has mostly been a sellers’ market.

However with the help of Consumer Protection Act their awareness has increased. As a result the car makers are now forced to inculcate the take-it-or-leave-it style of working. The recent past has now become history. The choice range of the customers is growing at very fast pace these days. Very recently Toyota, a well known firm recalled 41,000 Etios and Liva cars to change its inlet pipe to the fuel tank.

Defected power window switches were replaced by Honda Siel which recalled 72,115 in the month of September. Maruti Suzuki had fixed the defected fuel tank of all most 1-lakh A Star cars in the first quarter of 2010. While in case of Tata motors, it is first homegrown one to conduct a recall thus their wariness is justified.

The act of replacing a starter motor provides us with a clue that Nano is defected. The firm may even gain some goodwill and support by this act. Also, what is good on the part of Tata Motors is that the company is also using the recall (though they aren’t terming the exercise as a recall) to mend other areas of the Nano which too needed attention.