New Delhi: Volkswagen Taigun and Skoda Kushaq have scored top star ratings for adult and child occupant safety in the first round of crash tests under Global NCAP’s updated crash test requirements for India. The models scored 29.64 points out of 34.00 in adult occupant protection, and 42.00 out of 49.00 in child occupant protection. Taigun and Kushaq are twin models sharing the same platform and produced in the same Plant, located near Pune.
Global NCAP’s updated crash test protocols, for 2022 to 2025, assess frontal and side impact protection for all tested models. Electronic Stability Control (ESC), pedestrian protection and side impact pole protection assessments are also required for vehicles to score the highest star ratings. Some of these test parameters would also serve as protocols for the upcoming Bharat NCAP programme.
Assessed in their most basic safety specification, with ESC fitted as standard, the safety watchdog states that the models demonstrated a stable structure in the frontal impact, adequate to good protection for adult occupants, and marginal to good protection in the side impact scenarios. Child occupants received full protection during the front and side impact.
Alejandro Furas, Secretary General of Global NCAP, said that both the models were voluntarily offered by their makers for testing. “We urge all car makers to aspire to and achieve this level of crash test performance going forward, maintaining the momentum of safety improvements we have seen steadily develop through our programme since we began our Indian testing in 2014,” he added.
Global NCAP has been consulted as part of the efforts to frame India’s own car safety assessment initiative, Bharat NCAP. David Ward, President of the Towards Zero Foundation says, “The majority of domestic and international automakers understand that Indian consumers rightly expect high safety standards as a minimum requirement. We look forward to this trend continuing when Bharat NCAP gets underway next year.”
Piyush Arora, Managing Director and CEO of ŠKODA AUTO Volkswagen India said, “Safety has always been central to our R&D process. The Made-in-India, Made-for-India MQB-A0-IN platform is no exception. It has been internally tested for various impacts and is developed with a key focus on safety. This is an important milestone and a gratifying accomplishment for us.”
Christian Cahn von Seelen, Executive Director of Sales and Marketing, ŠKODA AUTO Volkswagen India said, “For the Volkswagen Group, the safety of our customers and their loved ones is paramount. Safety in our cars is not an optional accessory, it forms the core of our DNA. The design, dimensions, and materials used in the cabin may differ among our car models, but one constant is our rigorous pursuit of keeping the driver and occupants safe in our cars.”
Saul Billingsley, Executive Director of the FIA Foundation, an international charity, working closely with grant partners to shape projects and advocate to secure change in policy and practice, says, “Global NCAP has catalysed a dramatic transformation of auto safety in India, from testing a large number of zero-star cars in 2014 to now pushing the five-star boundaries with new and more ambitious test protocols.”
Under the Safer Cars for India campaign, which began in 2014, Global NCAP has tested over 50 India-made cars so far.
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The country’s first new car assessment programme could see a higher crash test speed of 64 kmph compared to 56 kmph that’s required for type approval. Few industry players had earlier dismissed Global NCAP’s test parameters citing differences in Indian and European testing standards. Draft notification on ‘Bharat NCAP’ is expected soon.
