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India’s highway transport ministry is pushing forward with its determination to require all passenger vehicles to have six airbags, regardless of resistance from some carmakers which say it’ll improve the price of automobiles, a senior authorities supply instructed Reuters.”
Security is non-negotiable. The ministry is finalising the principles, which is able to take a while to be notified,” he stated, with out committing to a timeline.
India in January issued draft pointers requiring all new vehicles from Oct. 1 to be fitted with six airbags, together with 4 passenger airbags and two aspect or curtain airbags. It was anticipated to finalise the principles a month later however remains to be analysing suggestions from auto firms, the supply stated.
The feedback come every week after India’s greatest carmaker instructed Reuters such a rule will make small vehicles dearer and drive away some potential consumers who can not afford to shell out extra for a car.
Driver and entrance passenger airbags in all vehicles are already necessary.
The federal government estimates including 4 extra airbags would price not more than $75. Auto market knowledge supplier JATO Dynamics, nevertheless, estimates it may improve prices by at the least $231.”The associated fee implication is exaggerated. The ministry has consulted airbag makers on the associated fee and time wanted to make the components domestically,” the individual stated.
Some firms export vehicles with extra airbags however the fashions they promote in India solely meet the minimal necessities. Additionally, top-end variants of vehicles are sometimes fitted with 4 or extra airbags however the base fashions normally have simply two, forcing folks to pay extra for his or her security, he stated.
“Carmakers ought to present airbags as a matter of security, it mustn’t must be mandated by the federal government. We’re having to step up rules as a result of firms are usually not doing it on their very own,” he stated.
The ministry estimates that having airbags, together with seat belts, would have saved the lives of at the least one-third of the 39,000 individuals who died in highway accidents in 2020 resulting from head-on or aspect collisions. (Reporting by Aditi Shah; Enhancing by Kim Coghill)
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