The Japanese automobile giant DATSUN promotes itself as Durable, Attractive and Trustworthy, or DAT for short. Is it truly durable and trustworthy?
Source: Google
Datsun’s debut car – The Datsun Go – failed to match up with the Global NCAP standards of a safe car and, unfortunately, scored a ZERO.
Global NCAP, a London-based organization, a safety watchdog that tests the automobiles and grade them taking the EUROPEAN Safety Standards into consideration. In 2014, it tested India’s top selling cars(Maruti’s Alto, Hyundai’s Eon, Volkswagen AG’s Polo, Ford’s Figo, Tata’s Nano and Datsun’s Go) most of which failed. Go being called - a GRAVE RISK.
After “GO” (a compact segment car), DATSUN comes up with Go’s decedent “Go+ “, it was shocking to see that there were no major safety improvements. Some given below
|
Safety Features |
GO |
GO+ |
|
Airbag |
Optional, only in the top end model |
Optional, only in the top end model |
|
ABS |
No |
No |
|
EBS |
No |
No |
|
Engine Immobilizer |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Price (Top end) |
4-5lacs(on road) |
5-6lacs(on road) |
Source: Nissan
Also, Go+, being a MUV, has three rows of seats but doesn’t offer a seatbelt option in its third row. Despite being highly priced, things as basic as an ABS is missing too. We wonder if this car matches the European standards.
India, world’s 6th largest car selling country is 20 years behind Europe & North America in terms of the safety standards. India sees 384 people dying every day in road accidents. The fact that our government delays the work of making strict laws for the automobile manufacturers makes the situation even worse.
The Government of India has now made it mandatory to add AIRBAGS, ABS and Seatbelt sensors in all the cars from October 2017, a highly delayed decision when the Global NCAP had already warned about the deadly cars in the early 2014.
When the automobile manufacturers were questioned about how safe the Indian cars are, they simply dodged the question by saying that they are meeting and usually going beyond what is required by the “law” in terms of safety in “India”. Thus, doing away with the Corporate Social Responsibility.
David Ward, chief executive of Global NCAP, said the episode was a wake-up call to all car manufacturers that it is unacceptable to sell potentially dangerous cars in emerging markets and use the excuse that they comply with local legislation.
Twinkle Jain
(Principal Correspondent)
CarLo.in
