All Hyundai cars will now be fitted with six airbags as standard safety requirement

The government has not made this mandatory for manufacturers but has said buyers were smart enough to choose cars which were the safest.

A Merlion logo is pictured on Hyundai's Singapore-assembled Ioniq 5 electric vehicle | Representational image | Reuters

New Delhi: Hyundai Motor India on Tuesday announced that all its models would now be fitted with six airbags.

The company also said it would participate in the voluntary vehicle crash safety protocol – Bharat New Car Assessment Programme (Bharat NCAP) – which came into effect on 1 October. The Bharat NCAP is modelled on the Global NCAP but tailored for Indian standards. It is aimed at improving the safety standards of cars produced in India, which has the highest number of road fatalities in the world.

Under the Bharat NCAP programme, car manufacturers can voluntarily offer their vehicles for testing as per the Automotive Industry Standard (AIS) 197, following which a car is awarded a rating out of 5 stars.

This follows the recent announcement by Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari that the government would not make it mandatory for automakers to fit six airbags in passenger vehicles.

The minister had also said consumers today were cautious and could decide which car to buy based on their safety ratings. “Those (companies) not making six airbags (standard) will face problems as far as sales are concerned,” he said.

Last year, the government proposed to implement the six-airbags norm from October 2023 to enhance the safety of passengers.

Unsoo Kim, MD & CEO at Hyundai Motor India, said, “We are elated to announce the standardisation of 6 Airbags across all models & all variants. Additionally, HMIL has achieved a key milestone in its roadmap for safer mobility, with Hyundai VERNA being rated as 5-Star, for Adult & Child Occupant Protection by GNCAP.”

(Edited by Tikli Basu)