Maruti Suzuki Chief says Mandatory 6 Airbags will Dent Passenger Vehicle Sales in India

The chairman of Maruti Suzuki, India’s top-selling carmaker, says 6 mandatory airbags rule will dent vehicle sales in the country. According to Reuters, R C Bhargava expressed that the government’s move will hurt sales of small, low-cost cars, pushing back publicly on what the government thinks about a significant well-being drive.

This will hurt the growth of the small car market and the smaller and poorer people, who cannot afford the more expensive cars.”

India is the world’s 5th biggest vehicle market, with yearly sales of around 3 million units and is dominated by Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai Motor. Small cars make up the majority of vehicles sold in Indian market.

Giving driver and front passenger airbags in all vehicles is as of now compulsory. Adding four more airbags will increase the expense by ₹ 17,600 rupees, as indicated by auto market information supplier JATO Dynamics. Sometimes, the expense could be higher as automakers should make designing changes to the vehicle’s construction to oblige the extra airbags, said Ravi Bhatia, president for India at JATO.