How Safe are the Cars Sold in Indian Market

 Recently the Renault Duster made for the Indian market has scored zero stars for adult occupant protection in Global New Car Assessment Program(NCAP),while the Dacia Duster scored three stars in 2011 which is the the European Version, the one sold here is the rebadged version which has changes made specifically to appeal Indian market.One of those changes is compromise in safety equipments,These trends are mainly seen in sub 10 lakh cars in Indian market.So what forces the manufactures to take measures like this?

Europe bound Dacia Duster

  The first fact we should know is that a car without any airbags  will automatically get Zero star rating and Global NCAP uses base variant of a car to conduct crash tests.since India is a very price conscious market manufacturers skip safety equipment's like Airbag,ABS etc too keep the cost down.The one thing an Indian customer who is out to buy a new car is gives most priority is its fuel consumption.No matter how equipped or good looking the car  is the buying decision will be solely based on the Fuel efficiency of the vehicle.

  Suzuki is infamous for using thin metal in body construction to keep the kerb weight down to be more fuel efficient than its rivals and keep an edge in sales.Even the latest baleno seems to be build with thin metal sheets but its is a welcoming fact that suzuki has equipped even the base variant of baleno with airbags and ABS.More manufactures should follow this path

 Even though Nano was a failure, the new cars produced by Indian manufacture Tata excels in passenger safety, newer models like Tiago,Tigor and Hexa are better built and sturdy and provide optional saftey package even for base variants.But things have to improve further 

  India is continuing to increase safety standards and the Bharat NCAP is a positive step in that direction.So new models will be better equipped in terms of safety and better built to withstand deadly crashes

Volkswagen Polo is one of the safest hatchback offered in Indian market 

 The government has announced that the crash test regulation for existing cars will come into effect in 2019 and for new cars in 2017.If this regulation is implemented successfully the number of deaths due to vehicle accidents will be reduced drastically.The downside of these regulations, according to car makers, is that the cars will become more expensive as more equipment gets added to them. But nothing is more expensive than our Life and safety comes at a cost