Tata Motors on Tuesday said that the company will make sure all its cars meet the crash tests with five-star rating so that there is no compromise on driver and passenger safety.
Speaking to mediapersons here at the 89th Geneva International Motor Show (GIMS 2019), Guenter Butschek, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Tata Motors, said it will follow the Global NCAP norms, unlike many other leading companies in India.
"Five-star Global NCAP needs to be the norm for Tata Motors. If there is a star, we would like to have five of them," Butschek said.
The Global NCAP is the UK based testing agency, which crash tests vehicles at a speed of 64kmph. In India, the speed limit is 56kmph at Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI), which many believe are not enough as India is one of thr largest countries where fatal accidents happen on roads.
In India, so far, Tata Motors is the only company that has five-star rating in crash test by Global NCAP standards. Leading passenger car manufacturers such as Maruti Suzuki India and Hyundai Motor India have not gotten the similar star rating from the global testing agency.
In fact, cars like Maruti Suzuki's best selling hatchback Swift failed the Global NCAP rating poor points.
Having said that, upgradation of safety norms comes at a price, and to put all the parts and features, the cost of the vehicles will go up in future.
"With upgradation in safety features and making models conform to better emission norms, vehicle prices may however go up," Butschek said.
But, the company will keep on working on the newer technologies to keep pace in order to move the needle, he said adding that customers need to be more educated about the safety norms in the cars and look for what is best in the market.
"Customers need to be educated about importance of safety...it is not going to come free. The consumer who goes with a mindset of discounts will have to shell out more due to changing regulatory requirements," Butschek added.
The writer is in Geneva on the invitation of Tata Motors