Watch: Made-in-India XUV300 becomes Africa's first car with 5-star safety rating

Made-in-India Mahindra XUV300 has achieved a new feat of becoming the first car in South Africa to have a 5-star Global NCAP rating. Mahindra & Mahindra exports the XUV300 SUV among other models to several overseas markets including South Africa.

Interestingly, Global NCAP’s Indian and African program share the same assessment protocols.

As per the Global NCAP crash test performed on the Mahindra XUV300, the SUV comes with adequate protection for the driver and passenger’s chest and the bodyshell is stable as well.

In respect to the adult occupant protection, the Mahindra XUV300 offers a good amount of protection to the driver and passenger’s head and neck. The footwell area of the SUV offered adequate protection.

During the side impact test, the XUV300 met technical requirements that include seatbelt reminder for the front occupants. It also gets ABS.

On the child occupant protection front as well, the child seat for a three-year-old was able to prevent forward movement during the impact test, offering fair protection to chest. It gets ISOFIX as well.

Commenting on the crash test rating, David Ward, President, Towards Zero Foundation, said, "We are delighted to see the first 5-star result in our Safer Cars for Africa project. This is a landmark moment for vehicle safety in Africa. We are particularly pleased to recognise the continued safety commitment from Mahindra. The XUV300 was engineered in India and demonstrates the capability of the domestic Indian auto industry to achieve excellence in safety design and performance for global export markets."

In the last one or two years, the made-in-India cars, especially from Mahindra & Mahindra and Tata Motors, have shown significant improvement in terms of both adult and child occupant safety with a rigid bodyshell, a host of safety features. Several cars of both the homegrown auto manufacturers have scored well in the Global NCAP crash test.