Following the enforcement of the ban on sub-1,500kg vehicles laid out by an interim order of the Gauhati High Court, the London-based crash-test safety agency, Global NCAP has come forward with the request for Indian automakers to adopt United Nations standards for front and side impact, from January 1, 2016.

In a letter to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), David Ward, the secretary general of Global NCAP, writes, “In the wake of the recent Assam Interim Court Order banning the sale of small four-wheelers that fail international crash tests, and ahead of the new occupant protection regulations being applied by the Indian Government from October 2017, Global NCAP respectfully encourages SIAM to take its own voluntary initiative on car safety.”

The letter further went on to cite several examples of voluntary initiatives by European manufacturers to enforce road safety, to motivate Indian automakers to follow suit.

In an interaction with our sister publication Autocar Professional, Ward commented that, in terms of safety, the Indian automotive industry is where Europe was 20 years ago. He also said that Indian automakers could easily match global standards since many major domestic and  international car companies in India are already producing vehicles that meet international safety standards for global exports.