Datsun Go will come with driver side airbag

Nissan has announced that its budget hatchback, the Go, will come with a driver side airbag shortly. The airbag is likely to be available on the top-end variant of the car.

It may be recalled that the Datsun Go fared poorly in the Global NCAP crash tests, scoring zero stars. Not only did the car lack safety features such as airbags and ABS, but its structural integrity was extremely poor, causing it to disintegrate severely on impact. Global NCAP declared that the structure was so weak that even fitting airbags would be of no use. Max Mosley, chairman of Global NCAP had written to Carlos Ghosn, the chairman and CEO of Nissan, asking for a withdrawal of the Go from India and other markets. He had urged the company to redesign the car's body shell.

While the company's decision to equip the Go with an airbag seems to be a reaction to the failure in the crash tests, Nissan maintains that it had plans to provide airbags in the car right from the beginning of the Go project.

The airbag-equipped Go will be rolled out from Nissan's Oragadum plant, located near Chennai. Production will commence next month.

Source: Autocar India