In a step towards safety, road and transport minister Shri Nitin Gadkari recently announced that it will be mandatory for all carmakers to provide 6-airbags as standard in all cars.
To minimise the impact of frontal and lateral collisions to the occupants seated in both front and rear compartments, it has been decided that 4 additional airbags be mandated in the M1 vehicle category,…
— Nitin Gadkari (@nitin_gadkari) January 14, 2022
The announcement of the approved draft was done by Shri Nitin Gadkari via a tweet urging all carmakers to aim for safer India and provide 6-airbags in every vehicle which carries up to 8 or more passengers.
Currently, the Road and Transport Ministry has mandated all home and foreign carmakers to provide dual-airbags as standard in all cars from this month onwards. While a single safety airbag was mandated back in 2019.
In his tweet, Gadkari mentioned “In order to enhance the safety of the occupants in motor vehicles carrying upto 8 passengers, I have now approved a draft GSR Notification to make a minimum of 6 airbags compulsory,” tweeted Gadkari.
Indian Army Day Special: Cars Used By Our Indian Army
Challenges Ahead?
Any carmaker offering a minimum of 6-airbags is definitely a sign of relief but this also means that the government has given all Indian and foreign carmaker selling and manufacturing in the country a valid point to increase the prices.
Taking a brief look at the cost breakdown. An average frontal airbag for any entry-level costs around Rs.5-10 thousand. While the side and the curtain airbags cost double.
So with having 6-airbags, the price of all entry-level cars are expected to get an average hike of Rs. 3,00,000 approx. Another challenge is that the installation of any additional airbags will result in a lot of changes in any cars initial body shell.
This will also require the carmaker to do some adjustments on the inside just to make sure that every airbag deploys effectively and safely.
5 Upcoming Electric and CNG Cars from Maruti Suzuki
Although this might be a task for carmakers and also cause a significant hike in the current car prices but one thing is for sure and that is it will certainly make the overall quality of the car better thus making it safer.
