The development of Bharat NCAP 2.0 is officially underway at the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI). The confirmation comes from Ujjwala Karle, deputy director and head of ARAI’s Technology Group. “We are working towards creating this new version [of Bharat NCAP], with work already in progress,” Karle stated at the second iteration of the ADAS Show in Bengaluru.

1. The key challenge lies in adapting these features for Indian use cases: ARAI official
2. Hyundai, Tata, Honda and Mahindra are among those offering more affordable cars with ADAS

Bharat NCAP 2.0 ADAS testing explained

As the next evolution of India’s automotive safety assessment programme, Bharat NCAP 2.0 will expand its testing capabilities to Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), with these features becoming more commonplace in newer models. Companies such as Hyundai, Kia, MG, Tata Motors, Honda and Mahindra currently offer some of the most affordable cars equipped with ADAS features, and this list is only set to grow over time.

ADAS tuning needs to be improved for India, says ARAI

ADAS is an umbrella term encompassing intelligent vehicle features designed to aid drivers; these include lane-keep assist, adaptive cruise control, automatic emergency braking, and more. Currently, ADAS features up to Level 2 autonomy are offered in India. However, Karle noted that the key challenge with ADAS systems “lies in adapting these features” for Indian use cases. “We don’t want these systems to exist merely for the sake of availability, only to be switched off when actually needed. Instead, they should be fine-tuned to suit Indian driving conditions and user expectations,” she added.

What is Bharat NCAP?

Formulated by ARAI and rolled out in April 2023, the Bharat New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) follows the Global NCAP standards and grades passenger vehicles based on their crash-test performance. The initiative also improves the export potential of vehicles manufactured by Indian carmakers. So far, 14 cars, including the Skoda Kylaq, Mahindra XUV 9e, Mahindra BE 6, Hyundai Tucson and Citroen Basalt, have been tested by Bharat NCAP.