Global NCAP test results show negative results for cars sold in India

Global NCAP selected a handful of popular compact hatchbacks plying the roads in India for testing, and the results were far from favourable. The models tested included India's best-selling car - the Suzuki-Maruti Alto 800 (banner) - along with the Tata Nano, Ford Figo, Hyundai i10 and Volkswagen Polo. However, the automobiles received a zero-star adult protection rating when experienced with a frontal impact at 64km/h.

Combined sales of these five cars account for around 20 percent of all the new cars sold in India last year. Global NCAP chose the entry level version of each model as none were fitted with airbags as standard.

Max Mosley, Chairman of Global NCAP, said, "India is now a major global market and production centre for small cars, so it's worrying to see levels of safety that are 20 years behind the five-star standards now common in Europe and North America. Poor structural integrity and the absence of airbags are putting the lives of Indian consumers at risk."

In the Suzuki-Maruti Alto 800, the Tata Nano and the Hyundai i10, the vehicle structures proved inadequate and collapsed to varying degree, resulting in high risks of life threatening injuries to the occupants. The structural integrity was so frail, that even fitting the cars with airbags would make minimal difference in reducing the risk of serious injury.

Additionally Global NCAP also assessed the same models against the U.N.'s basic crash test where the front impact was offset by 40 percent at a speed of 56km/h. Only one car passed the test.

Coinciding with the Global NCAP tests, Volkswagen has decided to withdraw the non-airbag version of the Polo from sale in India. In contrast, the Polo nameplate that is fitted with two airbags as standard received a four-star rating for adult occupant protection.