Bharat NCAP will start testing cars on December 15th. More than three dozen cars are to be tested.

India’s own car crash test program, the BNCAP, came into effect on October 1, 2023, but the testing of cars was not commenced immediately, and now some media reports suggest that crash testing will start only after the festive season ends.

The much-awaited safety assessment program backed by the government of India was launched in August this year, and it officially came into effect on October 1^st. However, the real task of the program, which is crashing cars and evaluating their performance, did not commence immediately. Now it is being reported in some media outlets on behalf of the officials of BNCAP that they will start the crash test on December 15, 2023. The delay caused at the start of the program has been attributed to the ongoing ‘festive season’.

The officials at BNCAP have stated that the first batch of test cars will be dominated by mostly Indian, Japanese, and Korean companies. “Even though the safety ratings are not mandatory, we have gotten an excellent response from the car manufacturers, and all of them are vying for a five-star rating,” the official said.

The first company to apply for the BNCAP test was Tata Motors. Tata's newly launched Harrier and Safari will be the first cars to go through the crash tests, though they have already received a five-star rating from Global NCAP.

Meanwhile, Hyundai Motor India and Maruti Suzuki India will send three models each, while Indian SUV maker Mahindra and Mahindra will send their four models for the test. The companies have refrained from disclosing the names of the models as of now, but these will be disclosed in due course.

Meanwhile, European automakers such as Renault India, Volkswagen Group, and Stellantis Group are delaying getting their vehicles safety-rated. While some said they have yet to decide which models they want to be rated for safety, others said their models have already been assigned safety ratings by Global NCAP and will not opt for BNCAP ratings right away, according to people familiar with these companies' plans. The official spokespersons from all these companies decided not to disclose any plans regarding the testing of their cars.

Functioning of BNCAP

Bharat NCAP has been developed on the lines of Global NCAP test protocols, and it will test the cars with similar methods that the latter uses. It will pick three units of the base variant of each model for tests.

Adult occupant protection (AOP), child occupant protection (COP), and safety assist technologies (SAT) are the three features that will be evaluated by the BNCAP rating. Carmakers and importers must submit Form 70-A to the Center-designated agencies. Based on their performance in the tests, the agencies will assign star ratings ranging from zero to five according to the Automotive Indian Standard (AIS).