The ministry has modified the standard requirements applicable to M1 category of vehicles to include passenger airbags as a standard fitment via a draft notification no. GSR 797 (E).

As per World Road Statistics report in 2018, India ranked first for road accidents deaths across the 199 countries. Thalavai Venkatesan of Continental Automotive India explains the five safety technologies that promise to boost road safety in India.

It is estimated that one Indian city is wiped out every year due to road accidents. In 2018 alone, a mind-boggling 149,000 people lost their lives on Indian roads, which is equivalent to the population of Meghalaya’s capital Shillong.

Though India accounts for just 2 per cent of automotives globally, it is responsible for more than 11 per cent of road traffic deaths. In 2018 alone, around 149,000 people lost their lives on Indian roads.

With rising awareness, every consumer today is India wants safety features to be a standard fitment in the vehicle. While cost of the vehicle may go up due these new fitments initially, Prashanth Doreswamy, Country Head of Continental India and Managing Director, Continental Automotive India, believes prices to come down gradually as safety installations increase.

The newly launch extended range comes with a battery pack of 21.5 kwh, thus, has significantly longer range.

The two vehicles hosts technically advanced and intelligent connectivity features that add a practical twist to elegance. The car sports a new generation Amundsen infotainment system, with state-of-the-art 20.32 cm floating touchscreen display.

The BMW 3 Series has BMW Virtual Assistant that responds to voice commands and can be addressed by saying, Hey BMW.BMW Gesture Control has six pre-defined hand movements for control. The Reversing Assistant keeps a record of the last 50 metres driven and assists by taking over the steering.

With the Government of India mandating the use of airbags and seatbelt by the end of 2019 in the passenger car segment, there is a huge opportunity for the passive safety equipment suppliers in the country, says Atul Kumar.