Future of entry-level hatchbacks in dark

Jun 2, 2022 admin 206 Views

[ad_1]

Cars in the future are expected to be safer than the current generation of cars in the Indian market. It is so because the Government of India has made it mandatory for the cars manufactured in India (in the future) to have at least 6 airbags in them. From the safety point of view, even though this is a good decision but it is not the same from the manufacturer’s side.

The government of India had notified earlier that in the Indian market, car manufacturers should install 6 airbags for vehicles sold from October 2022. However, implementation of this rule means that many variants of the entry-level hatchback cars will either be discontinued or get expensive. Maruti Suzuki is one of the manufacturers which sell many models of entry-level cars like Alto, S-Presso, Celerio and WagonR.

The actual issue

The smaller hatchback cars are budget-friendly and are meant at middle-class buyers who are opting for their 1^st car or are on a tight budget. Adding airbags more than 2 in the car means that the manufacturer has to make structural changes. The cost of re-engineering the entry-level cars in order to fit in extra 4 airbags means that the consumer will pay around Rs 60,000 more than the current price of the vehicle.

The concept of adding 6 airbags in premium cars and SUVs seems relevant. However, the introduction of 6 airbags in the car does not sit well with the budget of the small cars. Usually, car buyers have a budget of Rs 5 lakh for an entry-level hatchback. An increase in the budget will definitely affect the sales of the car.

Recently, Maruti Suzuki announced that it will discontinue one of its best-selling models- Eeco. However, the manufacturer is all set to discontinue Eeco and reintroduce it with a newer model towards the end of this year (2022). We expect that the car manufacturer will introduce the newer model with 6 airbags.

Air-bag rule

The government of India made it mandatory to install a single airbag for the driver’s seat from July 2019. However, the rule for dual air-bag at the front has been made mandatory from January 2022.