Once seen only in premium and luxury cars, six airbags are now becoming more accessible to and affordable for the average car buyer in India.
The government last month clarified that six airbags were not mandatory (in India, two airbags are mandatory), leaving it to the customer to make a comparative assessment of safety while buying vehicles.
There has been increasing focus on road safety and growing demand for safer vehicles. Towards this end, effective October 1, the government rolled out Bharat New Car Assessment Programme – the country’s first crash testing standards for locally manufactured vehicles.
Globally, India ranks among the top in road accidents, despite accounting for just 1% of the world’s vehicle population.
The share of mass-market cars with six airbags in India rose to 46% of 1,443 variants in 2023, as per Jato Dynamics.