Indian carmakers improve safety but yet to reach international levels

A decade ago, most cars with a high level of localisation of Indian parts fell short of global safety standards. Their bodies didn’t have sophisticated crumple zones to direct impact away from passengers, the number of airbags they had were minimal or non-existent, and dynamic safety technologies were restricted to premium models.

There was a reason for that. India wasn’t applying widespread crash testing like foreign countries do, so manufacturers didn’t see the need for an investment focus on safety. Also, customers rarely walked into showrooms asking for the safest car. They wanted the cheapest or the most fuel-efficient or