Vehicle safety group Global NCAP has given three-star safety rating out of five for adult occupant protection to Hyundai’s Motor India’s mid-sized SUV Creta and premium hatchback i20 after conducting crash tests.
Toyota Kirloskar Motor’s (TKM) Urban Cruiser received four-star safety rating.
Vehicles are rated from zero to five based on their safety features and automobiles with a higher rating considered safer for occupants.
In a statement, Global NCAP said it tested the basic versions of Creta and i20, featuring two frontal airbags and ABS.
The mid-sized SUV recorded an unstable structure and the risk of injury to the lower legs and feet of the driver, it stated.
"Lack of ISOFIX anchorages and three point belts in all seating positions explains the child occupant protection results. Global NCAP was surprised to see in such a new model the lack of three point belts in all seating positions, lack of ESC and no side head impact protection as standard,” the vehicle safety group noted.
During the assessment, i20 showed an unstable structure, a risk of the driver airbag not fully protecting the driver’s head and weak protection to the driver’s chest, it added.
TKM’s Urban Cruiser, which was also tested in its most basic safety spec comprising two frontal airbags and ABS, showed a stable structure, and adequate to good protection of critical body regions of the adults.
The lack of three point belts in all seating positions and the high neck biomechanical values in the frontal crash explain the three stars for child occupant protection, Global NCAP stated.
"Although the overall star rating of these models might seem reasonable, the continued reluctance of manufacturers like Hyundai and Toyota to equip safety systems such as ESC and side body and head protection airbags as a basic requirement in India is disappointing,” Global NCAP Secretary General Alejandro Furas stated.
This is why Global NCAP welcomes the Indian government’s initiative of increasing side impact protection requirements and why Global NCAP will update its test protocols as from July, he added.
Success in the rating assessment will then only be possible if these improved safety features are included as standard.
We have seen steady progress in the safety rating of models tested in India over the last six years. It’s been especially welcome that domestic automakers in India have risen to Global NCAP’s safety challenge. Global players like Toyota and Hyundai should follow their lead,” Towards Zero Foundation Executive President David Ward noted.
Global NCAP is a major programme of the Towards Zero Foundation, a UK-based charity working internationally in support of the new UN Decade of Action for Road Safety, with a goal of halving road deaths and serious injuries by 2030.
Global NCAP launched the #SaferCarsForIndia Campaign in 2014 with the objective of promoting safer vehicles in the country.
Between 2014 and 2022, the entity said it has completed more than 53 safety assessments.
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