Mass carmakers shifting to six airbags driven by changing costumer mindset regarding road safety

Hyundai Motor India last Tuesday announced that all its models in the country would now come with six airbags as standard.

Once found only in premium and luxury cars, six airbags are quickly becoming the new normal for four-wheelers in India. According to an Economic Times report, driven by market dynamics and changing customer mindset, mass carmakers in the country are working towards making six airbags the new standard.

Hyundai Motor India, last Tuesday, announced that all its models in the country will now come with six airbags as standard. Even though the Indian government has clarified that six airbags are not mandatory for passenger cars, the changing consumer mindset is pushing carmakers in the country to make it the norm.

The carmaker’s share of six-airbag models rose from 34 per cent in 2021 to 65 per cent in 2023 across its product portfolio, the report said.

The report quoted a recent study by NIQ Bases to show how consumers were taking safety as the most important factor before buying a car. As per the study, crash-test ratings and the number of airbags were the top two features for nine out of 10 customers while purchasing a car. Fuel efficiency, which used to be the most popular feature for mass-market cars, has now fallen to the third spot, the study showed.

The report quoted Jato Dynamics data to show that the share of mass-market cars sold with six airbags in India had risen to 46 per cent of 1,443 variants in the January to August 2023 period.

Ravi Bhatia, president, Jato Dynamics told the publication that six airbags provide better protection then two or four airbags and in case of more vulnerable riders like children and older people, this becomes even more important.

However, he also said that these features will push the prices of cars up. Hyundai made a price increase of 1-1.5 per cent for most models after its announcement on six airbags, the report said.