Thursday, February 7, 2013

So what do we do about burning cars?

As car manufacturers double up efforts to ensure cars don’t catch fire, it is important for customers also to understand how they might be ‘the’ problem in such incidents. by Pawan Chabra

The email came directly from Nikkei in Japan to us some time ago. The question was quite straightforward: “Have you heard about the Nano units catching fire? Do you think you can get inputs for us?” For once, despite our immodestly sensationalist bent, we were given to defend the various incidents that were being alluded to by the Japanese media giant. Without doubt, a photograph (like the one yours truly has provided above) of a car burning brighter that Roosevelt’s July 4 celebrations, especially of a model that has been at the top-of-the-charts for the most part of last year, is enough to let the Marxian spin doctors weave their immediate socialist hypothesis of why they always knew that small and cheap cars like the Nano would have lesser quality parts, with almost all the commentaries ending with, “Didn’t we tell you?” We’d say, pretty wrong!

Firstly, the facts. Yes, Nanos have caught fire – and those cases are well documented; one suspects more so because of the hype with which this small a-promise-is-a-promise-car was launched. How many new car brands have been launched with this kind of rabid coverage? Ashok Raghunath Vichare, the buyer of the first Nano, is a mini-celebrity in his own way, after having received his from the Chairman of Tata Sons and Tata Motors, Ratan Tata, under massive media coverage. Almost the same coverage was provided to the episode involving a Nano that took place on March 21, 2010 at Mumbai’s Eastern Express Highway. Just 45 minutes had passed after an insurance agent Satish Sawant had collected his brand new Nano from a showroom in Prabhadevi, when the car – while he was driving it home – burst into flames. A similar incident involving a Nano happened in Vadodara (Gujarat) on April 7, 2010 – and there, all the Gueveras jumped out of their graves demanding immediate justice.

Tata Motors’ spokesperson Debasis Ray is more forthcoming, when he accepts, “There were three separate incidents in September and October 2009 of smoke coming out – not fire – from behind the steering column and localised meltdown of some plastic parts in three Tata Nanos. Those incidents were traced to a defective combination switch. Supplies of these switches were changed immediately and further issues have been comprehensively addressed since then.” As per him, the two fire incidents that took place have already been investigated by a team of experts, highlighting that the Nano has all the required certification by the Automotive Research Association of India, the designated authority under the Ministry of Heavy Industries, Government of India, for road safety and other parameters.

While it makes sense to criticise any car manufacturer for manufacturing defects, the fact is that many incidents of cars catching fire are not really linked to issues with the manufacturers. Ajay Seth, a Delhi-based businessman, had a near death experience when his Hyundai Accent caught fire due to a leakage in the LPG pipe. However, Seth was unable to claim the damage from the insurer as his car had a retrofitted LPG kit which literally didn’t have any certification. The case was similar with Pramod Sharma, another Delhi-based businessman; who opted to give his car to a neighbourhood service centre instead of an authorised service station. The car caught fire during the servicing process and the dashboard console soon turned to ashes. “Though the owner of the garage didn’t charge for the damage, my car has been continuously troubling me since then. I am planning to sell it rather than continuing to invest in it,” Sharma tells B&E.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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