The Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH) had beforehand proposed October 1 because the date when obligatory fitment of six airbags in cars have been to return into impact. However, the stated proposal is now prone to be deferred by as much as 18 months.

• Additional manufacturing capability of 10 million items wanted 
• Lead time allowed was additionally very much less
• Mandatory six airbags may damage the expansion of passenger car market

Industry sources have revealed that there merely isn’t sufficient airbag manufacturing capability in India, which is the prime motive behind the anticipated delay. Airbag manufacturing must be practically tripled to 18 million items a yr to satisfy the surge in demand if all cars needed to be compulsorily outfitted with six airbags.

MoRTH had issued a draft notification in January, mandating six airbags in all cars within the nation, and directed all producers to observe the proposed tips by October 1, 2022.

A senior business government stated, “The six-month timeframe within which the ministry has to legislate a notification has technically elapsed. Hence, we are essentially looking at reissuance of the notification.” The tips at the moment are anticipated to get carried out solely round April 2024.

India’s whole passenger car market dimension hovers across the three million items mark, with FY2022 (April 2021-March 2022) gross sales being pegged at 30,45,465 items after registering a 12 % year-on-year development. A dual-airbag mandate, which kicked in earlier this yr in January, has already taken the entire capability requirement to about six million airbag items. With an estimated 15 % of all PVs already being outfitted with six airbags, the capability want for airbags is presently near eight million items.

If the remaining 85 % of the PV market was to modify to 6 airbags, there can be a requirement of an extra capability for 10 million airbags, subsequently requiring suppliers to dramatically enhance manufacturing to 18 million airbag items to serve your entire market.

An business skilled stated, “We don’t even have a capacity of six million units right now. The new guidelines call for a significant expansion of capacities as well as localisation of airbags and their associated parts as a lot of components are currently being imported.”

“It is impossible to cater to this demand explosion within a short timeframe, despite component makers’ willingness to invest into more capacities as per customer demand,” he additional added.

Hasty and costly transition

Though the six-airbag mandate, which has been uniquely proposed in India, is nice enterprise for security system suppliers, there’s a concern within the business that the associated fee influence and engineering challenges in implementation would severely damage the expansion of the passenger car market. The funds section, which incorporates your entire gamut of mass market fashions proper from the Maruti Suzuki Alto and Renault Kwid on the entry stage to well-liked household cars – like Maruti Suzuki Wagon R and Tata Tiago – can be impacted.

All such A- and B-segment cars that maintain the lion’s share of the price-sensitive Indian car market, and are primarily provided with reasonably priced mobility as their distinctive promoting proposition, will want a radical re-engineering of their side-body constructions, or in some circumstances, even a grounds-up improvement of their platforms, to have the ability to conform to the proposed mandate.

Furthermore, it’s learnt that greater than the airbag value, which is known to make carmakers incur an extra expense of round Rs 7,500 per car for including facet and curtain airbags, the price of mannequin redevelopment in addition to lack of enough lead time to undertake such mega reengineering initiatives are different large issues. “The government had allowed almost two years of time for the mandatory implementation of dual airbags in cars. But this time around, it’s a much more critical implementation and we will definitely need more time. This is more of a lead-time issue than cost (airbag),” stated one other prime business government.

While the entire value of a six-airbag system is estimated to vary between Rs 12,500 and Rs 15,000 to OEMs, the efficient value paid by the client inflates by two to a few occasions by the point the car reaches a buyer’s dwelling, as a consequence of levy of assorted central and state taxes, together with highway tax.

In India, a driver airbag was made obligatory in all cars from July 2019, with twin entrance airbags changing into obligatory from January 1, 2022. While the primary draft notification for a similar was rolled out in December 2020, the initially proposed deadline was April 1, 2021, for brand spanking new fashions, extending to June 1, 2021, for all different present fashions. However, after subsequent deadline extensions, twin airbags in cars may finally turned obligatory solely at the beginning of this calendar yr.

Six airbags an overkill

While the ministry’s transfer to make twin entrance airbags obligatory in all cars was welcomed throughout the board – it was strategically launched alongside the entrance seatbelt reminder alarms that turned a compulsory fitment in all cars from July 2019 – the six-airbag proposal has obtained flak from all corners. Without first successfully imposing rear seatbelt utilization in cars, it may find yourself being an pointless deterrent for the business’s development due to the massive value implications. Budget cars would turn into too costly, which may additional carry down the charges of motorisation within the nation, which is at a low 32-cars-per-thousand-people.

Moreover, the current highway accident that claimed the lifetime of Cyrus Mistry is a transparent instance that greater than airbags, it’s the seatbelt – a part of a car’s main restraint system – that finally ends up saving lives within the occasion of a crash. An airbag, then again, types the car’s supplementary restraint system (SRS) and basically assists an occupant’s seatbelt to assist cushion the antagonistic influence of an accident from being transmitted to the human physique. The efficacy of an airbag is simply achieved when the occupants are securely strapped of their seats.

So, because the business probably stares at a deadline extension for the proposed six airbag rule, the MoRTH has issued a brand new draft notification that proposes amendments to the Automotive Industry Standards (AIS156), suggesting obligatory fitment of seat belt reminders for all front-facing rear seats in cars. Industry consultants imagine that this might be a fairly good transfer and an incremental, low-cost and more practical step than a six-airbag mandate.

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 Opinion: Six airbags? Why not eight?!