Indian Automotive Sector

Automobiles in India to be accorded ‘Star Ratings’ based on performance in crash tests: Nitin Gadkari​

Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Friday said the new car assessment program — Bharat NCAP, proposes a mechanism wherein automobiles in India shall be accorded ‘Star Ratings’ based upon their performance in crash tests.

In a series of tweets, Gadkari said the Bharat New Car Assessment Programme (Bharat NCAP) will serve as a consumer-centric platform, allowing customers to opt for safer cars based upon their Star-Ratings, while promoting a healthy competition among original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in India to manufacture safer vehicles.

“I have now approved the draft GSR notification to introduce Bharat NCAP (New Car Assessment Program), wherein automobiles in India shall be accorded Star Ratings based upon their performance in crash tests,” he said.

The Road Transport and Highways minister stressed that Star Ratings of Indian cars based on crash tests is extremely crucial not only to ensure structural and passenger safety in cars, but to also increase the export-worthiness of Indian automobiles.
Bharat NCAP will prove to be a critical instrument in making our automobile industry Aatmanirbhar with the mission of making India the Number 1 automobile hub in the world.
— Nitin Gadkari (@nitin_gadkari) June 24, 2022

The testing protocol of Bharat NCAP shall be aligned with global crash-test protocols factoring in the existing Indian regulations, allowing OEMs to get their vehicles tested at India’s own in-house testing facilities, Gadkari said.

According to him, Bharat NCAP will prove to be a critical instrument in making our automobile industry Aatmanirbhar with the mission of making India the top automobile hub in the world.
 
The TVS Ronin is the company's first attempt to make a motorcycle with a mixture of classic aesthetics and modern technology and a high-torque engine.

 

India's passenger vehicle exports jump 26% in Apr-Jun to 160,263 units​

India's passenger vehicle exports rose by 26 per cent in the first quarter as compared with the April-June period of last fiscal which saw disruptions due to the second wave of COVID-19.

As per the latest data released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), passenger vehicle shipments rose to 1,60,263 units in the April-June period of this fiscal as compared with 1,27,083 units in the same quarter of 2021-22.

Passenger car shipments saw an 88 per cent year-on-year growth at 1,04,400 units while utility vehicle exports rose 18 per cent to 55,547 units during the period under review, SIAM data showed.

Export of vans declined to 316 units in April-June as compared with 588 units in the same period of the last fiscal.

Domestic car leader Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) led the exports during the period, followed by Hyundai Motor India and Kia India at the second and third positions, respectively.

MSI exported 68,987 PVs in the period under review, up 53 per cent from 45,056 units in the same period of the previous fiscal year.

MSI's top PV export markets include Latin America, ASEAN, Africa, the Middle East and neighbouring regions while its top five export models comprise Baleno, Dzire, Swift, S-Presso and Brezza.

Hyundai Motor India's international dispatches stood at 34,520 units during the June quarter, up 15 per cent from the year-ago period.

Similarly, Kia India exported 21,459 units across global markets in the period under review as compared with 12,448 units in the same period of last fiscal year.

Nissan Motor India shipped 11,419 units, while Volkswagen exported 7,146 units during the June quarter.
Renault and Honda Cars also chipped in with 6,658 units and 6,533 units respectively during the period under review.