Blog: The Story of Car Crash Tests in India

It was in the summer of 2013 that Global NCAP took a formal decision that it needs to focus on India. Why? Quite simply because India is now one of the top-five car markets in the world – and the only one in that list without an effective car safety programme – regulatory or otherwise.

I got involved as I was consulted by Global NCAP on the right product mix that should be tested in the first round. After careful considerations and analysing what fits their budget, a list was drawn up.

I must clarify that the budgetary constraints come into the picture, as all NCAP bodies around the world are independent organisations that work on sponsorships and grants, and do not have any government or automobile industry support or intervention. Hence assigning a large chunk of money to one initiative isn’t easy! The way it works is all the cars to be tested were bought at regular dealerships in India, in their most basic variant available – and shipped to Germany for the tests.

Since there were two tests to be carried out on each model – two identical cars of each make were required. So 10 cars made it to Landsberg – outside Munich, and were crash tested at the ADAC facility there. All manufacturers involved were also invited to witness the tests.

The results were nothing short of shocking. In some cases it wasn’t altogether surprising that the cars fared poorly, like the Tata Nano or even the Maruti Suzuki Alto800 – which are after all budget cars. But it’s the others like the Hyundai i10 or Ford Figo that were the shockers.

The i10 especially, as its made ONLY in India for the world, but yet the European version got a 5 star NCAP rating, while the Indian car failed. Yes – despite being made at the very same plant in Chennai! All cars lacked airbags as standard equipment and so failed on that count anyway. But their structural integrity was also put under the scanner.

This was a start, and a step in the right direction. But clearly a lot more needs to be done, because India’s other claim to fame – is the highest road deaths in the world. More than 100,000 people die every year in road accidents. True, the largest chunk of that number are pedestrians, followed by those on two wheels and also in buses or trucks. And car accidents account for the smallest figure. But for everyone who is indeed moving their family into a car – to avoid walking on a dangerous road, plying through traffic on a two wheeler, or getting away from a congested bus – the expectation is that that they are moving into a safer product. And as more people do that – the products should be safer. Isn’t it?

Watch:

Despite being one of the world’s biggest automobile markets, India has flimsy safety norms. Despite having the world’s highest death rate in road fatalities, India has not formulated any legislation about crash testing vehicles. For the first time, 5 made-in-India cars – all popular, high volume models – were crash tested in Germany by Global NCAP, the world’s car safety watchdog. CNB brings you exclusive results, as we were part of the process.