Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, has officially made a statement regarding the six-airbag rule. He made it clear that the mandatory six-airbag rule for all new cars will go into effect from October 1, 2023. The rule will apply to all new cars and SUVs that come under the M1 category of vehicles in the country.
Lack Of Airbag Productions Causing The Delay
Earlier in January this year, the ministry had approved a draft notification. Under this, MoRTH made six airbags mandatory in cars with a passenger capacity of eight people. Initially, MoRTH was going to implement the rule from October 1, 2022. But, as stated by the ministry, the auto industry’s supply chain constraints have impacted production. Thus, it is now decided that the proposal mandating a minimum of 6 Airbags will come into effect from 01st October 2023. The safety of all passengers travelling in motor vehicles is so paramount important. This is irrespective of the cost and variants. Thus, from 1st October, even the base trims of the vehicles will have 6 airbags, which usually now come with dual front airbags.
As per reports, there simply isn’t enough airbag manufacturing capacity in India. Thus, it would not be possible to go ahead with it. Airbag production would nearly triple its amount today to about 18 million units a year. Given the volumes of cars sold in India, airbag production will increase substantially.
In India, the driver airbag became mandatory in all cars from July 2019. Meanwhile, dual front airbags became compulsory from January 1, 2022. The first draft notification for the same rolled out back in December 2020. The proposed deadline for this was April 1, 2021, for new models. Meanwhile, MoRTH extended the date to June 1, 2021, for all other existing models. But, after subsequent deadline extensions, dual airbags in cars eventually became mandatory only at the start of 2022.
By How Much Will the Prices Go Up?
The total cost of a six-airbag system will fall in the range of INR 12,500 and INR 15,000 for OEMs. Thus, the effective price inflates by two to three times by the time the car reaches a customer’s home. This is due to the levy of various central and state taxes, including road tax.
Also Read: 6-airbag rule in India could be delayed?
