Proposal To Make 6 Airbags Mandatory Will Hurt Passenger Vehicle Sales In India: Maruti Suzuki Chief

6 airbags compulsory: Bhargava said that the sales of the small cars will go down further as it has already been declining through the pandemic.

Airbags in a car (Representational photo: getty)

New Delhi: The chairman of Maruti Suzuki, the country's top-selling carmaker, on Wednesday said that India's six airbags obligatory airbags rule would hit automotive gross sales.

According to Reuters, R C Bhargava expressed that the government's move will hurt sales of small, low-cost cars, pushing back publicly on what the government thinks about a significant wellbeing drive.

India, which has a portion of the world's deadliest roads, delivered a draft proposition in January commanding six airbags in all passenger cars fabricated from October 1, 2022. The draft rules, part of a progression of street security measures, are yet to be concluded.

Bhargava also said that the sales of the small cars will go down further as it has already been declining through the pandemic.

"This will hurt the growth of the small car market and the smaller and poorer people, who cannot afford the more expensive cars," he said as quoted by Reuters.

India is the world's fifth-biggest vehicle market, with yearly deals of around 3 million units every year, and is overwhelmed by Maruti Suzuki, more significant part claimed by Japan's Suzuki Motor, and Hyundai Motor.

In the nation's price-sensitive market, most vehicles sell for around $10,000-$15,000.

Giving driver and front traveler airbags in all vehicles is as of now compulsory. Adding one more four airbags will build the expense by ₹ 17,600 rupees, as indicated by auto market information supplier JATO Dynamics.

Sometimes, the expense could be higher as organisations should make designing changes to the vehicle's construction to oblige the extra airbags, said Ravi Bhatia, president for India at JATO.

"Companies will need to decide whether it is feasible to make the changes and if the model will sell at a higher price. The damage will be significant at the lower end of the market where there is huge price sensitivity," he said as reported by Reuters.

In excess of 133,000 individuals were killed in 355,000 road mishaps in India in 2020, government information showed. Vehicle travelers represented 13% of deaths.

The Road Transport Ministry is firm on its arrangement and is pushing automakers to consent to the standards, two sources told Reuters.

The ministry estimates four extra airbags to cost something like $90, however that being said it is facing resistance.

The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) has requested that the ministry "review and reconsider" the principles saying "side and curtain airbags are not mandated anywhere in the world".