New Tata Safari and Harrier SUVs receive first-ever Bharat-NCAP 5-star rating

Tata Motors has announced that its flagship SUV, the new Safari and the Harrier SUV have become the first recipients of the 5-star rating (adult occupant protection and child occupant protection), as per the Bharat New Car Assessment Programme (Bharat-NCAP), India’s very own and independent safety performance evaluation protocol.

Announcing this today, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, said: “Bharat-NCAP is India’s independent, Atmanirbhar voice on vehicle safety. It is benchmarked to the best-in-class global standards and the Bharat-NCAP vehicle rating system is designed to advance road safety and vehicle safety standards beyond mandatory regulations. I’m delighted that the first ever vehicles being certified today with the highest achievable 5-star rating, are both from Tata Motors. I congratulate them on award of this coveted certification with the highest possible ratings and for continuing to enrich their legacy of introducing the safest vehicles on Indian roads.”

The Tata Harrier and Safari both secured 30.08/32 points for adult occupant protection (AOP) and 44.54 out of a maximum of 49 for child occupant protection (COP), which have helped get that 5-star rating. While the SUVs scored perfectly in the side movable deformable barrier test, the protection for the chest region in the frontal offset deformable barrier test proved to be less than ideal.

Transport MInister Nitin Gadkari handing over the Bharat NCAP certification to Shailesh Chandra, MD, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles and Tata Passenger Electric Mobility in the presence of Tata Motors officials.

Receiving the 5-star Bharat NCAP certification, Shailesh Chandra, MD, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles and Tata Passenger Electric Mobility, said, "Bharat-NCAP is a significant step forward as it provides customers with a credible, objective score to evaluate the safety aspects of various vehicles. Informed customers taking optimal decisions will further foster the rising preference for safer vehicles in the country. We acknowledge and appreciate the collaborative efforts of the government, regulatory bodies, and the automotive industry in this pursuit. At Tata Motors, safety is at the core of our DNA and we are honoured to win this maiden Bharat-NCAP certification with an exemplary 5-star rating for two of our vehicles. We remain committed and will continue to work towards improving vehicle safety holistically.”

Built on the OMEGARC architecture, which is derived from Land Rover’s well-known D8 Platform, the recently launched new Safari and Harrier SUVs had also aced the Global NCAP crash test with a full 5-star rating in October 2023. These are the first Tata models to be tested under the new, more stringent Global NCAP testing protocol. 

Difference between Global NCAP and Bharat NCAP

For all intents and purposes, there’s very little that separates the two ratings and the processes implemented by each organisation. One of the major differences, though, is that under Global NCAP, the maximum score that can be attained for AOP is 34 points, while under Bharat NCAP, it is 32 points. Other than this, the crash test protocols and assignment of ratings seem to be quite similar.

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