Safety top priority now for Indian car buyers, existing owners may upgrade if ratings are low

• More than seven in 10 Indians will look at the safety rating of a car before marking their next purchase, finds a LocalCircles survey.
• One in four will look at upgrading their vehicle if their current vehicle doesn’t meet the prescribed mark.
• Bharat NCAP ratings was launched by Nitin Gadkari earlier this week and will be rolled out from October 1.

The average car buyer in India has rarely cared about safety standards, while making a purchase. This was because safety benchmarks were not spelt out. Armed with better information and regulatory changes, Indians are more aware and discerning.

A survey by LocalCircles has found that more than seven in 10 Indians will look at the safety rating of a car before marking their next purchase. Moreover, one in four will look at upgrading their vehicle if their current vehicle doesn’t meet the prescribed mark.

Earlier this week, on August 22, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari launched Bharat NCAP, India's own crash testing safety programme, saying that requests have already been received for crash testing of 30 models. He pointed out there is a huge demand for higher star rating vehicles.

"People are cautious about safety, pollution. People want to use different types of fuel. If anywhere there is a new alternative available then they are ready to use," Gadkari said.

The LocalCircles survey, which received over 24,000 responses from citizens across the country, found that 72% of consumers who plan to buy a new car in the next three years indicated that they “would want to know” the safety star or B-NCAP rating of different cars available in the market.

According to a report by insurance firm Acko, a look at the current safety rating of cars sold in India shows that foreign manufacturers like Volkswagen and Skoda score highly on global safety standards (Global NCAP Rating 2023). Amongst Indian OEMs, Mahindra & Mahindra and Tata Motors score in the top five with Scorpion N and Punch respectively. From Maruti, the Brezza makes it to the top-20 list.

The next question which arises is that once a consumer gets to know that the safety rating of the current car is low, what is the likely response going to be.

The survey received 11,858 responses on this question with 48% of car owners stating that if the B-NCAP safety star rating of their car comes out to be low, they are likely to “ensure speed and safety belt compliance when on the high speed roads/ highways".

Interestingly, more than a quarter, 28% to be precise, indicated that they would “upgrade to a car with higher safety star rating. 8% indicated that they would “avoid usage of the car on high-speed roads/ highways.

Bharat NCAP at a glance

Lower cost of testing: Gadkari pointed out at the launch that manufacturers will only need to spend ₹60 lakh per car instead of the ₹2.5 crore required for testing in Europe.

Rating: The crash tests will evaluate vehicle safety performance and award ratings from 0 to 5 stars, as is the international norm.

Standard: Bharat NCAP will crash-test cars according to the Automotive Industry Standard (AIS) 197.

Test details: Three tests will be conducted - frontal, side and side pole impact. The evaluation will cover Adult Occupant Protection (AOP), Child Occupant Protection (COP) and Fitment of Safety Assist Technologies.

For 3-star and above: The car must have front seat belt reminder and electronic stability control fitted.