NEW DELHI: In an industry first, Hyundai Motor India on Tuesday said all the company models will now be fitted with 6 Airbags as standard, across all variants, including the base trim. At present, most carmakers offer the 6 airbag feature on the top-end variants of their model while the base models are fitted with either two or four airbags.
Hyundai also said that it obtained a 5-star safety rating in Adult & Child Occupant Protection by Global NCAP. The South Korean carmaker also plans to volunteer three of its models for testing under the newly formulated Bharat New Car Assessment Programme (BNCAP).
In future, the company will send other models for safety ratings as well. Under BNCAP, carmakers can voluntarily offer their vehicles tested as per the Automotive Industry Standard (AIS) 197. Based on the model’s performance in the tests, it will be awarded star ratings on a scale of 0-5, for adult occupants (AOP) and child occupants (COP).
Unsoo Kim, MD & CEO at Hyundai Motor India said, “We are not just a provider of smart mobility solutions, but also safer mobility solutions.” “HMIL will continue to spearhead efforts in raising vehicular safety standards in India, thus making Indian roads safer for all,” Kim added.
The decision by Hyundai to go with 6-airbags as standard comes even as Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari recently said that the government would not make it mandatory from October 1, 2023, for automakers to fit six airbags in passenger vehicles.