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- Published: March 27, 2022 19:02
New Delhi: In the latest development in the auto sector, Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari announced that the government is ready to make six airbags mandatory in cars in India. The draft notification regarding the development was approved by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways in January.
It is important to note that the new rule will become mandatory for 8 seaters, irrespective of the model, variant, and cost of a vehicle, from October 1, 2022.
We have made a minimum of 6 Airbags mandatory in all vehicles carrying upto 8 passengers, irrespective of the model, variant and cost of vehicle. It will ensure safety of poor consumer. : Union Minister Shri @nitin_gadkari ji pic.twitter.com/lOdqr3JcXL
— Office Of Nitin Gadkari (@OfficeOfNG) March 22, 2022
Draft notification on 6 airbags:
As per the draft notification, dated January 14, 2022, the new rule will be followed by the manufacturers who produce M1 category vehicles. Under the M1 category, vehicles have 8 seats and weigh less than 3.5 tonnes.
Car manufacturers started offering safety features like driver-side airbags and reverse parking sensors after the government implemented safety standards for vehicles in April 2019.
Extending the safety standards further, the government also made passenger side airbags a mandatory feature.
The government’s new rule is being considered important as the number of vehicles on roads is increasing day by day and the number of accidents is also going up.
Car prices to go up to Rs 50,000 due to more airbags
At present, carmakers like Renault-Nissan do not sell any of their cars with six airbags. If we look at other brands, most of the car companies offer six airbags in those cars that cost more than Rs 10 lakh. In this price range, Kia Carens is the only company that offers six airbags across all variants.
To reduces the price of the car, many manufacturers do not include six airbags in cars.
As the new rule will be implemented in India, buyers will notice the direct impact on the prices of cars. It is expected that the car price will scale up to Rs 50,000.