Nitin Gadkari Urges Carmakers To Offer Six Airbags As Standard

• MoRTH recently announced a rule mandating dual airbags on new cars from April 1, 2021, with a December 31, 2021 deadline for existing cars.

• Cars such as the Ford Figo, Hyundai i20, Kia Sonet, and MG Hector get six airbags, but are only offered in higher-spec variants.

• The challenges involved in implementing this rule include costs and major changes to budget models that aren’t designed for them in the first place.

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has been pushing for stricter norms for four-wheelers in India for a while and now, its Minister Nitin Gadkari has urged carmakers to equip all vehicles in the country with six airbags as standard on all variants.

This suggestion is part of the increasing safety standards being pushed by MoRTH, starting all the way back in 2019 when it suggested all cars should offer at least one airbag as standard. In fact, starting April 1 2021, it’s mandatory for all new models to be equipped with dual airbags as standard, with a December 31, 2021 deadline for existing models. 

Sure, enhanced safety in cars is welcome, but having six airbags poses several problems. While there’s no shortage of cars in the country that come with six airbags starting with the Ford Figo, Hyundai i20, Ford EcoSport, Kia Sonet, and most of them are only offered in the higher-end variants. Besides, most are relatively premium offerings.

That brings us to the second major challenge: cost. Adding airbags will obviously mean a price hike and we are not talking about just one additional airbag like the dual mandate. Cars will have to be equipped with up to three or even five more airbags depending on the model. This would almost certainly lead to a price increase of around Rs 30,000 across variants. 

Lastly, budget carmakers such as Maruti Suzuki, Renault and Nissan don’t offer six airbags in any of their models, including the Maruti Suzuki Baleno, the Renault Kwid, and the Nissan Magnite. So adding more airbags on cars not designed for it will require various alterations to the body, interiors, and internals for proper incorporation. As such that will lead to a big price jump compared to the more premium models that already have them in higher variants. 

Keep in mind that Nitin Gadkari’s suggestion is simply an appeal and not a ruling. So it should be a while before six airbags become standard on your everyday car in India.