NEW DELHI: Tata Harrier will be the first car to get safety rating under India’s own star rating regime, Bharat NCAP, which was launched in August this year. The vehicle has been tested and its star rating will be out in the next 3-4 weeks, TOI has learnt.
Till now Indian car manufacturers have been taking their products abroad for testing as per Global New Car Assessment Programme (NCAP) protocol.
Sources said more domestic manufacturers, including Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai and Mahindra, have offered some variants of their upcoming models for rating under Bharat NCAP. A major player is also expected to offer one of its EV models in January and a total of six in 2024 for the rating, a source said.
Officials said the government move to rate cars is getting strong support from the industry as testing vehicles here and getting the star rating would cost them much less compared to the current requirement of testing vehicles abroad.
The road transport ministry has designated the Pune-based Central Institute of Road Transport (CIRT) as the nodal entity for the Bharat NCAP. The NCAP secretariat will host the star rating of the tested models on a scale of ‘0 to 5’ on its website for wider dissemination among the buyers.