In the latest round of testing by the Global NCAP, Indian cars have shown disappointing performance as the country transitions towards the Bharat NCAP.

The Honda Amaze received a two-star rating for adult safety and zero stars for child occupant safety, while the Mahindra Bolero Neo only managed a one-star rating for both adult and child occupant safety.

In a similar vein, the Kia Carens initially achieved zero stars for adult protection. However, following improvements by the manufacturer and a subsequent retest, it attained three stars for adult safety and an impressive five stars for child occupants.

“This mixed set of results demonstrates that more effort is still needed from some manufacturers to prioritise vehicle safety in the Indian market," said David Ward, President of the Towards Zero Foundation.

The Global New Car Assessment Programme (Global NCAP) is a major programme of the Towards Zero Foundation, a UK-based charity working internationally in support of the new UN Decade of Action for Road Safety, with a goal of halving road deaths and serious injuries by 2030.

Global NCAP’s crash test protocols assess frontal and side impact protection for all models, as well as Electronic Stability Control (ESC). Pedestrian protection and side pole impact protection assessments are required for vehicles scoring the highest star ratings.

In 2014, the NGO launched a Safer Cars for India campaign when it released the country’s first independent crash tests covering the Suzuki-Maruti Alto 800, the Tata Nano, Ford Figo, Hyundai i10 and Volkswagen Polo.

Between 2014 and 2024, it has completed more than 60 safety assessments that have acted as catalysts for the further improvement of safety for Indian cars.

However, the latest assessments are amongst the final tests in the SaferCarsForIndia campaign as Bharat NCAP becomes fully activated.

Launched in August 2023, the Bharat NCAP is an indigenous star-rating system for crash testing cars under which vehicles are assigned between one to five stars indicating their safety in a collision.

Modelled on the lines of the Global NCAP, the programme aims to assist consumers in making informed decisions before purchasing a car, thereby spurring demand for safer cars.

The BNCAP rating evaluates and rates vehicles after evaluating them on three parameters — adult occupant protection, child occupant protection, and safety assist technologies present in the car.

UN Decade of Action for Road Safety

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