Bharat NCAP explained: Benefits and shortcomings of India’s safety ratings for cars

What is Bharat NCAP?

Bharat NCAP is a voluntary safety rating system modeled on Global NCAP’s “Safer Cars for India” initiative. It evaluates two main criteria:

Structural integrity of the vehicle.

Safety for adult and child passengers in M1 category vehicles (passenger vehicles under 3.5 tonnes with seating for up to eight people).

Is Bharat NCAP Mandatory?

No, Bharat NCAP is voluntary. Its purpose is to inform consumers about a vehicle’s safety performance rather than to determine its suitability for sale. Even low-rated cars can be sold legally. This is in line with the growing demand for higher safety standards among Indian consumers, prompting manufacturers to seek safety ratings as a way to highlight the safety features of their vehicles.

Also Read: Mahindra Thar Roxx gets 5-star safety score in Bharat NCAP crash test

How Does Bharat NCAP Work?

Manufacturers follow a five-step process to obtain a safety rating:

1. Specify a model for security testing.
2. A Bharat NCAP representative randomly selects the base variant of the model.
3. The vehicle is crash tested at an authorized facility, observed by both the manufacturer and Bharat NCAP representatives.
4. Test results are shared with the manufacturer.
5. After approval from Bharat NCAP, the vehicle is given a star rating and a certificate is issued.

Manufacturers coordinate with CIRT for testing, while MoRTH oversees funding and protocols.

What are the key differences between Bharat NCAP and Global NCAP?

Bharat NCAP is aligned with Global NCAP standards but adapts them to India’s requirements. It evaluates three key areas of safety: adult occupant protection, child occupant protection, and safety assist features (such as electronic stability control, anti-lock braking systems, and airbags). Both Bharat and Global NCAP conduct frontal impact tests at 64 kmph and vehicles scoring 3 or higher also undergo pole side impact testing. To achieve the minimum 3-star rating, models must include front seatbelt reminders and electronic stability control.

The program will also test CNG and electric vehicles (EVs) and will evolve as new safety technologies emerge, including EV-specific standards.

(Read more: Mahindra XUV400 gets 5-star safety score in Bharat NCAP crash test)

What are its shortcomings?

Like all NCAPs worldwide, Bharat NCAP evaluates the safety of a vehicle only at a certain speed. While this is not a shortcoming, it is important to note that ratings are only valid if all drivers are seat belted (children’s child seats).

According to a crash safety expert who earned the title of Road Safety Officer at It confirms that a car’s safety performance will change even at slightly higher crash speeds (+10/20 km/h) “as crash energy increases exponentially with increasing speed.”

It also notes that NCAP ratings apply only to the crash types represented in the protocol and not to all crash types. According to your tweet

“NCAP crash tests generally cover crashes such as head-on impacts, side impacts and hitting a pole. It does not apply to rollovers or truck underpasses or narrow overlap collisions”. Currently, there are no tests to directly measure the durability of A/B/C pillars.

Road Safety Guy points out a very important aspect of crash testing that is often overlooked. Comparing a vehicle with other vehicles in its segment. In his opinion, this is very important because it should not be assumed that a small hatchback rated 5 stars is inherently safer than an SUV rated 2 stars. But as a general rule, a higher airbag count helps.

According to him, there are other factors to consider. For example, NCAP testing protocols were designed for the Western world, where car-to-car collisions are more common than those that occur in India, which predominantly involve collisions with trucks and/or rollovers.

Brands used to be like this Maruti Suzuki It has gone on record stating that local NCAP protocols should be adjusted to suit Indian driving conditions and that efforts should be made to inform consumers that this is not a regulatory measure but merely a measure aimed at better informing customers about crashworthiness. of their cars.

How many cars have been tested under Bharat NCAP?

While various manufacturers are scheduled to get their vehicles tested under BNCAP, currently only Indian automakers that have received a five-star rating through Global NCAP have come forward. Therefore, Tata Motors currently has six vehicles, all of which have five-star safety ratings for both adult and child passengers. mahindraAnother Indian automaker with an excellent track record for safety over the last decade also has three vehicles; Thar Roxx It received a five-star adult and child passenger safety rating, along with two other models (XUV400 and XUV3XO). Citroën India also earned the distinction of receiving 5 stars for its recently launched security system. Basalt.

Manufacturers like Maruti Suzuki (which received the top five-star crash safety rating for adults through Global NCAP) have yet to get any of their offerings tested through BNCAP. The same goes for Hyundai and Kia, whose offerings in India fared quite poorly when tested by Global NCAP.

(Parth Charan is a freelance automotive journalist and writer who has been writing about cars, motorcycles and the automotive industry for the last 12 years. He lives in Mumbai.)

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First Publication Date: 15 November 2024 15:31 IST