New Deadline For Mandatory Addition Of Front Passenger Airbags

As a result of this rule, many entry-level variants would get more expensive

• The co-passenger airbag is now standard for all new cars. 

• The deadline for all existing models to get this feature has been extended to December 31. 

• Cars to get this feature include Bolero, Wagon R, S-Presso, and Kwid. 

• Select variants of these cars currently have only a driver-side airbag

• Cars implementing this new safety feature will witness a price hike. 

The Union Government has now revised the deadline for carmakers to implement mandatory front-passenger airbags. All existing models must be equipped with this safety feature by Dec 31, a four-month extension from the earlier cut-off of Aug 31. 

Of course, all new cars -- manufactured on or after Dec 31 this year -- will obviously have to feature dual-front airbags as standard. So, this notification from the government extending the timeline applies to existing models.

Since 2019, a driver-side airbag has been compulsory. Other standard safety features include a speed alert system, ABS with EBD, rear parking sensors, and seat belt reminder. 

As of now, most cars’ entry-level variants, including that of Hyundai Santro, Maruti Alto, S-Presso, WagonR, Eeco, Renault Kwid, Datsun Redi-GO, and Mahindra Bolero, come with a driver-side airbag as standard. In some cases, their top-spec variants feature a single airbag, missing out on the other one. 

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But now that a co-passenger airbag is mandatory, the base and mid-spec variants of these cars could get costlier by up to Rs 10,000. However, we can only confirm the exact hike as we inch closer to the Dec 31 cut-off.

Read More on : Maruti Wagon R AMT