Explore Business Standard
Car safety rating and number of airbags were the top two features driving the consumer car purchase decisions, findings of a survey has revealed. Fuel-efficiency, one of the popular aspects while buying a car, occupied third place as per the survey commissioned by Skoda Auto India and conducted by NIQ BASES. The study revealed a heavy inclination among customers towards the safety features of the car with 9 out of 10 customers who thought all cars in India should have a safety rating, the survey noted. As per the findings, car's crash rating was the top driver of customer car purchase decision with an importance score of 22.3 per cent followed by number of airbags with a score of 21.6 per cent. When it comes to crash rating for cars, maximum customer preference of 22.2 per cent was observed for a 5-star safety rating followed closely by 21.3 preference for a 4-star rating. Crash rating of zero is the least preferred with only 6.8 per cent score, as per the survey. Fuel efficiency
Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday said majority of automobile manufacturers in India are already exporting cars with six airbags, and there is a need to adopt similar safety norms for cars in the country, stressing that they should also think about safety of people using small economy cars. Addressing the annual session of Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India (ACMA), Gadkari pointed out that every year, some 5 lakh road accidents kill 1.5 lakh people and injure over 3 lakh. "Majority of automobile manufacturers in India are exporting cars with 6 airbags. But in India, because of the economic model and cost, they are hesitating," he said. Gadkari wondered why automobile manufacturers are not thinking about the lives of people using economy cars in India. Mostly, lower middle-class people buy small economy cars. An airbag is a vehicle occupant-restraint system which interferes between the driver and the vehicle's dashboard during a collision, ...