Citroen’s made-in-India e-C3 electric SUV has scored zero star in the latest Global NCAP ratings.
The Citroen e-C3 scored zero star for adult occupant rating and just one star for child occupant safety. The assessment is amongst the final tests in the #SaferCarsForIndia campaign as Bharat NCAP becomes fully activated this year.
Launched in February 2023, the e-C3 is the European brands most affordable electric vehicle with prices starting at Rs 11.61 lakh (base model) going upto Rs 13.35 lakh for the top variant. While the Citroen e-C3 has not attained much popularity in India, and just manged to sell 1,534 units since launch. The e-SUV is manufactured in India and is expected to go on sale globally.
Global NCAP says the significance of the “disappointing zero star result therefore has worldwide safety relevance.”
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Alejandro Furas, Secretary General, Global NCAP said, “This is an appalling result from Stellantis. PSA was once a leader on safety, but now, as part of the Stellantis group, the manufacturer appears to have taken a major backward step. We hope that this apparent negative trend is corrected globally as a matter of urgency.”
David Ward, Executive President, Towards Zero Foundation said, “This result from Sellantis is of serious concern, not only for consumers in the Indian market but also for those in emerging economies around the world. We will be discussing this and other outcomes from the #SaferCarsForIndia campaign during our NCAP24 World Congress event in Munich next month.”
Citroen e-C3 (2 airbags standard)
According to the Global NCAP safety protocol, the Citroen e-C3 got a zero star rating for adult occupant protection as it showed poor protection to the passenger’s chest and weak protection to the driver’s chest.
Side head protection systems are not present, even as an option, and ESC is not present in the model range.
Child occupant protection received just one star as the model does not offer three point belts in all positions and does not offer a passenger airbag disconnection switch. The head of both child dummies impacted with the vehicle interior and the car offers only one position which is suitable for a universal child seat.
