New Delhi: Five of India's most popular cars including the Mahindra Scorpio have failed a basic crash test conducted by Global New Car Assessment Programme (NCAP).
All five cars — the Renault Kwid, Maruti Suzuki Celerio, Maruti Suzuki Eeco, Mahindra Scorpio and Hyundai Eon have been rated zero stars for safety by NCAP.
"The latest safer cars for India results show how important it is for cars to have a body shell that can remain stable in a crash. This is an absolutely crucial pre-requisite for occupant safety together with fitment at least of front air bags", says David Ward, the security general of Global NCAP.
It is very surprising that a manufacturer like Renault introduced the Kwid initially lacking this essential feature. Global NCAP strongly believes that no manufacturer anywhere in the world should be developing new models that are so clearly sub-standard. Car makers must ensure that their new models pass the UN's minimum crash test regulations and support use of an airbag," he added.
NCAP that conducts regular car crash tests in Europe has conducted an independent crash test for the first time in India. The test was conducted on some of India's best-selling cars – the Maruti Suzuki Alto 800, Tata Nano, Ford Figo, Hyundai i10 and the Volkswagen Polo. All of these cars were entry level versions and hence did not come with airbags, which proved to be a disadvantage.
NCAP also tested the cars in crash stimulation according to the UN standards and none of them was able to score a single star.