Nissan told to withdraw Datsun GO from India

New Delhi: In a setback to Nissan Motors, consumer safety testing body Global NCAP has asked the Japanese car maker to withdraw its compact car Datsun GO from the Indian market saying it was “sub-standard”. The car, which was launched in the country last year, had failed crash test results recently conducted by the Global New Car Assessment Programme (NCAP). It had failed on critical safety count.

 

In a letter to Nissan chairman and CEO, Global NCAP chairman Max Mosley urged for an “urgent withdrawal of the Datsun Go from the India and related markets”.“It is extremely disappointing that Nissan has authorised the launch of a brand new model that is so clearly sub-standard. As presently engineered the Datsun Go will certainly fail to pass the United Nation’s frontal impact regulation. In these circumstances I would urge Nissan to withdraw the Datsun Go from sale in India pending an urgent redesign of the car’s body-shell,” Mr Mosley said.

 

Applying the UN’s minimum crash test standards to all passenger car production worldwide is a key recommendation of the Global Plan for the UN Decade of Action for Road Safety, he added.“Given Carlos Ghosn’s responsibilities as chairman and CEO of Nissan and as President of the European Car Manufa-cturers Association, he should now demonstrate leadership both in Nissan and on behalf of the vehicle industry generally that corresponds to the UN’s legitimate expectation that automobile safety should be improved during the Decade of Action,” Mr Mosley said. 

 

As per the crash results, the Datsun GO scored zero stars for adult occupant protection and just two stars for child occupant protection. Its vehicle structure collapsed in the crash and was rated as unstable.“The car’s lack of airbags meant that the driver’s head makes direct contact with the steering wheel and dashboard – the dummy readings indicate a high probability of life-threatening injuries. However the failure of the body shell makes it redundant to fit an airbag,” Global NCAP said. A Nissan India spokesperson said, “We have not yet received the letter”. Earlier this week, Global NCAP had come out with results for the Maruti Sw-ift and Datsun GO.