Owning a car is India has always been expensive and in the near future it is going to get even more difficult to own one. With the government working on the introduction of the new safety and emission norms that will be effective from 2015, the car makers will have their work cut out. With the new norms on the floor, the cars will now be costing 1.5 to 2.5 percent more and the two-wheelers will also see a price rise of about 2 percent.
Although the changes will increase the prices of the vehicles, but will also result in making the path for cleaner environment and improved safety features. Cars will now have to meet the regulations of Bharat Standard V (BS V) which is similar to the Euro V, this will need the existing cars to redesign their powertrains and the new cars will have to be equipped with the powertrain that abides by the BS V norms. There will also be another regulation for the cleaner fuel that will have the sulphur content less than 10 ppm. It will also make it mandatory for cars to come with the fuel efficiency labels thus making it easier for the customer to go for a fuel efficient car. Further the government is also considering about converting the cars into hybrid by installing special kits. The two-wheeler will now have to come with the controller unit to reduce the evaporation of the fuel when the vehicle is parked. The unit is already equipped in the cars and it will be able to reduce fuel wastage in the bikes.
As far as safety is concerned the standard for the crash testing has been elevated. Now the higher standard of the offset-front, head-on and lateral collision will take into effect. The norms for the rear impact has also been toughened to protect the passengers and allow the rear doors to be opened even from inside during accidents and to minimize the chances of the fuel leakage. The cars will also have to meet the pedestrian safety standard in order to minimize the collision impact. Other than this car will now also have to come with the strap on seats for children. Further new compatibility rule will also come into effect for the car electronics to ensure that they don’t disturb each other’s functioning.