Bharat NCAP Should Not Be Mandatory, Says Maruti Suzuki Boss RC Bhargava

The government plans to make Bharat NCAP rating effective from April 2023 in India

• Maruti Suzuki Chairman, RC Bhargava, suggests that Bharat NCAP should not be mandatory for every car sold in India. 

• He believes that the NCAP ratings will only benefit the rich people. 

• Six airbags, ESC, three-point seat belt for all passengers, and pedestrian protection mandatory for good ratings. 

• With the inclusion of these features, the prices will significantly increase, especially for entry-level models. 

Recently, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari approved the draft notification for Bharat NCAP crash test ratings. Cars which are sold in India are projected to undergo crash tests in the country itself. The government says that this will help the buyers in checking the safety rating of a car beforehand. 

In a recent interview, Maruti Suzuki Chairman, RC Bhargava, suggested that Bharat NCAP should not be mandatory. He said, “India is different from the European market and we cannot follow the road safety measures of Europe.” The official further added that NCAP ratings will only benefit the rich car buyers. 

Related: Government To Introduce Bharat NCAP Crash Test From April 2023

To score good ratings in Bharat NCAP crash tests, a car will need to have six airbags, ESC, three-point seat belt for all passengers, and pedestrian protection. The tests will offer information regarding adult and child occupants’ protection and safety assist technologies like ADAS. 

With six airbags about to become mandatory, the car prices are bound to increase. The cost of four more airbags and the body-related modifications will have to be done on certain models, and it would make many entry-level affordable models costly. Conversely, Maruti might discontinue its entry-level offerings due to the mandate of six airbags.

Here’s a look at all Maruti models that have performed poorly in the Global NCAP crash tests:

*No airbags

Amongst these developments, the Global NCAP rules for their #SaferCarsForIndia campaign will also get more stringent from July 2022. This will make it even harder for a car to achieve a five-star safety rating. Bharat NCAP assessment is said to be in line with the global standard procedures.