India-made Datsun Go for South Africa gets driver Airbag in July - Report

Go’s Lux trim to get driver airbag for an extra price of 3,000 rand.

Datsun’s global head Vincent Cobee has confirmed to wheels24.co.za that the Go hatch sold in South Africa will receive optional driver-side airbag starting from July this year. Since the car that is currently sold in South Africa is manufactured at the Nissan’s Indian plant in Oragadam, Indian versions of the hatch will also gain the airbag option hopefully around the same time.

The report says that the crash bag would be an extra-cost option in the Go’s Lux trim (top-end South Africa-spec), for an additional price of 3000 Rand (approx. INR 15,526) to the purchase price. Datsun’s announcement follows fierce brickbat from the media late last year when the Go hatch fared poorly for its passive safety at the Global NCAP crash tests.

Datsun Go scored zero stars for frontal crash and side impact tests. Global NCAP observed that the car’s structure was unstable, making it redundant for airbags (if offered) to achieve required protection. This was followed by Global NCAP chairman Max Mosley’s letter to Renault-Nissan alliance chairman Carlos Ghosn requesting to withdraw the car due to its poor safety.

Also See: Datsun redi-Go concept showcased in Indonesia

During the launch of Go+ in January, Datsun India announced that optional driver airbag would be offered in the top ‘T’ trim of Go+, but no timeline was given. A recent report also suggested that the India-made Datsun Go will receive safety updates of ABS brakes and airbag by second half of this year for the South African market, though nothing official has been said so far about ABS inclusion.

[Source - Wheels24]