If seeing that a vehicle has a zero-star safety rating isn’t enough to scare someone off, seeing said vehicle in a wreck probably is. Five cars designed for India – which has minimum vehicle safety requirements – just received that number in crash tests, and videos from the test show why.
The tests come from the London-based Global New Car Assessment Program, an organization aimed at “supporting the development of new crash test programs for consumers in emerging markets”. The group tested seven cars designed for the Indian market and handed over five – the Renault Kwid, Maruti Suzuki Celerio, Maruti Suzuki Eeco, Mahindra Scorpio and Hyundai Eon, all without airbags – a rating of zero out of five stars for adult safety. Child safety scored only slightly better.
The Renault Kwid continues to gain popularity in the country – since March the India time reported the Kwid as fifth on the list of best-selling passenger cars with 9,743 vehicles sold that month. Since its launch on September 24, 2015total Kwid sales in March were 41,205 units.
The numbers show how widespread sales are despite the lack of security features, and Global NCAP general secretary David Ward told the the wall street journal that the crash test results reflect “lack of regulation and also lack of consumer awareness” in India. From The Wall Street Journal:
“Global NCAP firmly believes that no manufacturer in the world should develop new models that are so clearly substandard,” he said. “Automakers must ensure their new models meet minimum UN crash-test regulations and support airbag use.”
India is among a handful of emerging auto markets, including Thailand, Mexico and Indonesia, that do not have sufficient safety regulations in place, Ward said.
G/O Media may receive a commission
Stay on top of your health with high and low heart rate and irregular heartbeat notifications.
Track your daily activity on Apple Watch and see your trends.
As can be assumed from these vehicles, safety standards in India do not require airbags at this time. There are some changes coming, as the the wall street journal reports that the Indian government will at least start requiring front and side crash tests on new cars by the end of 2017. But for now, the country still has popular cars such as the Kwid that follow safety rules dull.
Here are test videos of four of the five vehicles that received zero stars:
This story was originally published on May 21, 2016
Read the original article here
