Airbag manufactures look to ramp up capacity: Report

With the Centre mulling rule for all cars to have six airbags, manufacturers in India are planning to boost their capacity to meet the emerging demand.

The death of former Tata Sons Chairman Cyrus Mistry in a road accident has shifted the focus on safety features in a car and the Centre is working on a series of measures to improve safety in a country that has the world's deadliest roads.

Also Read — Mistry's fatal crash puts focus on world's 'deadliest' roads

The world's top three airbag manufacturers - Autoliv, ZF and Joyson - are building up capacity in India to meet the expected demand in near future, according to a report by The Economic Times.

"We are future-ready both from capacity and capabilities perspective. We are expanding our capacity by 10 times to create 5 million units over the next three years," Mahendra Rajawat, MD of Joyson Safety Systems India told the publication. He added that Joyson would offer a global product in India at a competitive price.

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It is also looking at setting up a new plant for inflators either in the south or north India, as per the report. The move is aimed at further lowering the cost. As per the current rates, adding six airbags would cost manufacturers about Rs 8,000-10,000 per vehicle as two critical components, the inflator and the fabric used for the device, are imported.

Similarly, ZF is also said to be working on expanding its capacity and localisation.

Experts reportedly expect the capacity to surge about 25 million units from the current 5-6 million, which will create an industry of about $1.25 billion in a span of 12-18 months from $500 million now.