Six airbags to be mandatory for cars to achieve five-star rating at Bharat NCAP

A year after saying that six airbags will be made mandatory for cars in India, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said such a rule can be avoided if carmakers want to make vehicles that pass the Bharat NCAP crash tests. The Union Minister was speaking on the sidelines of the 63rd annual convention held by Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India (ACMA). He said the new crash test rules will automatically push car manufacturers to add six airbags in their models from now on.

In September last year, Nitin Gadkari had said that the mandatory six-airbag rule will be implemented from October this year. Considering the global supply chain constraints being faced by the auto industry and its impact on the macroeconomic scenario, it has been decided to implement the proposal mandating a minimum of 6 Airbags in Passenger Cars (M-1 Category) w.e.f 01st October 2023," he had said. His decision had put some carmakers to rethink their small-car strategy which currently offer dual airbags as standard.

On Wednesday, Gadkari said that the new car safety assessment programme Bharat NCAP will ensure that carmakers adhere to six airbags as standard to achieve the best safety ratings for their vehicles. He said, “"We have introduced the BNCAP regime which demands six airbags for achieving 5-star safety rating in cars. It will automatically push companies to offer 6 airbags as standard without the need for making them mandatory. Now people are cautious. Whatever models have six air bags, people may prefer to take that car. It’s up to the manufacturers and people to decide."

India currently has rule making at least two airbags mandatory in all cars. These two airbags, meant for the driver and front-seat passenger, are used mostly in smaller cars which lack space to pack in more airbags for rear passengers. Offering more airbags in cars also increased the price of the vehicle, an aspect Maruti Suzuki had raised saying it could deter buyers in a price sensitive market. The Centre, in its estimate, had said adding four more airbags will have an additional cost of

The government last year estimated that the addition of four more airbags would cost a little over ₹6,000. However, auto market data provider JATO Dynamics had estimated that the cost of these extra airbags could go up by at least ₹19,000.