Most modern cars sold in Europe and America are perfectly safe in every way and sail through NCAP crash tests with flying colors. So NCAP people decided to look at cars built in less developed parts of the world like India. This revealed some truly shocking facts.

NCAP selected a number of India’s best-selling car, including the Suzuki-Maruti Alto 800, Tata Nano, Ford Figo, Hyundai i10 and Volkswagen Polo, and put them through their standard frontal impact at 64km/h. All cars received zero-star adult protection ratings, which means they are downright dangerous.

This is a matter of great concern, because Indian car market is one of the biggest in the world, and the cars mentioned above account for 20% of all the new cars sold in the country. Not that they care about these things in India. I mean we’re talking about a country here where 4-seater cars are allowed to carry 18, at the least.

You don’t need airbags in India, as long as you say a prayer to your God of choice before embarking on your journey. They look at safety features as novelty, which why none of the cars mentioned above have airbags, which is why they all got zero. They also suffer from poor structural integrity, except for the VW Polo, which once fitted with two airbags, scored 4 stars.

Rohit Baluja, President of India’s Institute of Road Traffic Education (IRTE) said: “These results show that India would benefit enormously from the introduction of minimum crash safety standards and clearer information for consumers about the protection new cars offer. Many cars made in India for export meet these standards already, so it’s not a question of know-how or capability: India’s automobile industry just needs the right incentives. With the UN’s minimum safety standards and clear information for consumers, India can produce cars that are every bit as good as those in Europe and the US.”