Fires in three models of the Tata Nano, launched last year as the world's cheapest new car, has prompted its Indian manufacturer to plan precautionary checks.

Tata Motors said it may check the 7,500-odd Nanos that have been delivered, after a faulty combination switch reportedly resulted in fires in at least three cases in India.

However it said it was not considering a recall of the car for the time being. Unlike in the US and European car markets, recall of cars is not mandatory in India, even in cases of technical faults.

Tata Motors has not begun exporting the Nano yet.

"There seems to be some minor problem in the combination switch area. Of the two cars that we have had access to, this caused smoke and localised melting of plastic parts," said Tata Motors spokesman Debashish Ray.

The cars were stationary when the fires were reported.