EgunMogaji:
This brings up a question I've always wanted to ask.

Do Nigerians consider safety factors and study up on crash data before buying cars?

oyb:


Kia was selling cars without airbags at one time in Nigeria.

oyb:


Kia was selling cars without airbags at one time in Nigeria.

EgunMogaji:


Amazing.

This is why US toks is a sure bet.

Is there a government safety agency in Nigeria for this or there was no law broken?

I bet they’re all safer than a motorcycle with five people on it, which is realistically what these cars are competing with. Making the cars safer will make them more expensive, which will make more people stick with the motorcycles, which will make them less safe.

Us getting all Western Chauvinist on them and trying to force them to make all their cars as safe as American cars is counter-productive. Let them keep their super cheap cars. Other, safer, cars can fit into the marketplace at a higher price point, but taking away these cars at the ultra-low price point will not make anyone safer on the road.

What I find interesting is these cars are all aimed at the Indian market. These cars surely wouldn’t pass European safety rules.

Renault for instance has achieved the highest safety scores with its European cars but the Renault Kwid suffered badly in the video test above.

Do cheap cars in general have to be less safe cars?

Yes, is the short answer. The Indian market wants cheap cars and cheap has a cost associated with it.

To add in some perspective, the Nissan Versa is about the cheapest car you can get new in the US, for about $12,000.

That Renault costs about 1/3 of that when converted to USD.

So they could probably make a safer car, maybe even make it cheaper than the Versa if it was produced locally, accounting for cheaper labor, and other less expensive production costs.

It would probably still end up needing to be sold for more than $3800 in order to actually make money, and when you’re in a country where the population averages maybe $1,000 yearly, costs really do matter. Even if you’re targeting the wealthier urban populations.

Easy to criticise the various makers but they have to deal with reality. If they built cars that got five stars on the NCAP tests they would be so expensive that nobody would buy them. India is a country with a terrifyingly lax view of safety (driving on the wrong side of a dual carriageway? Fine. Driving without lights? Fine. Stopping on the said motorway to make repairs? Fine) and without legislation requiring higher safety standards the market will force costs and therefore safety down.Easy to criticise the various makers but they have to deal with reality. If they built cars that got five stars on the NCAP tests they would be so expensive that nobody would buy them. India is a country with a terrifyingly lax view of safety (driving on the wrong side of a dual carriageway? Fine. Driving without lights? Fine. Stopping on the said motorway to make repairs? Fine) and without legislation requiring higher safety standards the market will force costs and therefore safety down.