All New Cars In India Will Soon Offer Dual Front Airbags As Standard

• New draft from MoRTH will soon see carmakers offer dual airbags as standard across all variants of all models.

• Majority of cars under the 5 lakh mark offer only a single airbag as standard.

• Mandatory safety features currently include a driver airbag, ABS with EBD, rear parking sensors, front seatbelt reminders, and high-speed alert system.

According to a new draft notice issued by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), all cars will soon feature passenger airbags as standard. The notice has been issued to all carmakers, making it mandatory for all variants across models to offer dual airbags. However, the exact date of implementation is still unknown. 

This means customers who opt for more affordable cars such as the Renault Kwid, Maruti S-Presso, Datsun redi-GO, and Hyundai Santro will not have to pay a premium for such a basic safety feature. Many such cars offer only the driver airbag in the base variants, with the co-driver airbag available at a premium in the mid-spec or top-spec variants.

Most cars that only offer a single airbag sit below the Rs 5 lakh price mark. Cars priced above this mark mostly offer dual airbags as standard. Obviously, this is done for cost-cutting purposes to make the cars more affordable. However, this new order for mandatory dual airbags will affect the affordability of these cars. Expect to see a premium of around Rs 10,000 once this order comes into full effect. 

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In terms of safety, this is a huge step forward. The ministry has already made other safety features mandatory in all cars. These include rear parking sensors, ABS with EBD, front seat-belt reminders, manual override for central locking, and high-speed alert system.