It seems every car manufacturer should worry about Global NCAP test. A latest run involving a number of budget cars for the Indian market has ended with devastating results. Five models have scored zero stars in a crash test performed by Glocal NCAP, showing the dire lack of safety features on budget cars sold in developing countries.
The flunked cars are the Renault Kwid, Maruti Suzuki Celerio, Maruti Suzuki Eeco, Hyundai Eon and Mahindra Scorpio. They are all not sold in Malaysia (the Scorpio was offered for a brief time about a decade ago). These cars are made for budget-conscious consumers in India, prioritising pricing and fuel economy over everything else. The price? Well, enough to neglect safety, which explains why India is having one of the highest traffic death rates in the world.
All these cars crumpled like papers when tested at speeds of 64 km/h. Most of these cars (except the Kwid) are sold without a single airbag in their standard trims, but even with the inclusion of an airbag did little to save lives as their structure collapsed during testing. Global NCAP is certainly not pleased with Renault, which has long positioned itself as a global safety leader.
Speaking about Renault, the Kwid is one of India’s best-selling cars and three variants were tested by Global NCAP. The initial one, without a single airbag, scored zero stars in adult occupant protection and two stars in child occupant protection. Renault then sent an updated Kwid with a strengthened bodyshell (with and without a single airbag fitted). Sadly, both cars failed to pass Global NCAP as it suffered from the same structural collapse.
Presently, all cars sold in Malaysia are tested by ASEAN NCAP.
The following below are the videos from the aforementioned cars.
