Bharat NCAP 2.0 could cut ratings of today's 5-star cars
What's the story
The Bharat New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) is set to undergo a major overhaul in October 2027. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has released a draft policy for public consultation, open until December 20. The revised safety system will assess vehicles on a wider range of parameters than it does today. This could lead to lower ratings for current top performers unless they are upgraded accordingly.
Assessment criteria
A 5-pronged assessment approach
Bharat NCAP 2.0, unlike its predecessor which mainly focused on adult and child occupant protection during crashes, will use a five-pronged assessment approach to assign star ratings. The areas of evaluation are crash protection (55% weightage), vulnerable road user protection (20%), safe driving features (10%), accident avoidance systems (10%), and post-crash safety (5%). Each vehicle will be scored out of 100 points instead of the previous dual-score system.
Rating criteria
Bharat NCAP 2.0 raises star rating threshold
The threshold for achieving the highest score has also been raised under Bharat NCAP 2.0. From 2027 to 2029, a vehicle will have to score at least 70 points to get five stars; this requirement will go up to 80 points between 2029 and 2031. Even if a model scores high overall, it cannot be rated five stars if it gets zero in any vertical or shows "red zone" injury readings for any adult/child dummy.
Testing requirements
Program mandates more crash tests
The number of mandatory crash tests has been increased from two to five under Bharat NCAP 2.0. New test scenarios include full-width frontal, rear impact, and oblique pole side testing at speeds between 32km/h and 64km/h. Male and female adult dummies as well as child dummies will be used in these tests; features like head restraints, ISOFIX anchors, and airbag configuration will also affect the results.
Safety standards
Emphasizing electronic stability control
To qualify for a star rating under the new system, base variants must have Electronic Stability Control and side head protection like curtain airbags. They also cannot have side-facing seats. These changes are likely to lead to wider adoption of active and passive safety features as standard equipment in vehicles. A major shift is the dedicated scoring for those outside the vehicle, including pedestrians and cyclists.
Feature evaluation
More weight to driver-assist functions
Bharat NCAP 2.0 also gives more weightage to driver-assist functions, including seat-belt reminders with occupant detection, forward-collision warnings, blind-spot detection, rear cross-traffic alerts and lane-departure alerts. Accident-avoidance scoring also evaluates the optional performance of automated braking systems. Post-crash safety is also assessed under this new system, including how easy it is to rescue occupants after a crash and whether automatic SOS dispatch systems are in place.