Tata offers safety fix for Nano after cars catch fire

( AFP/GETTY IMAGES)

The manufacturer of the world's cheapest car, the Tata Nano, has announced it will provide free safety upgrades after a number of the vehicles mysteriously caught fire.

Tata Motors insisted there were no "generic defects" with the car but said new safety features would be added to the exhaust and electrical system if owners wished. "Tata Motors is not recalling Nanos," the company said. At least six of the cars have reportedly caught fire since they went on sale last year for just £1,500.

The company said the fires were caused by reasons "specific to the cars which had such incidents" rather than by a general fault. The car was the brainchild of the company's chairman, Ratan Tata, who decided to build an affordable car for India's aspirational middle class after seeing a family of four riding on a motorcycle.