Letter from the Editor - Is Over-regulation Killing the Motor Car?

In the West, people now aspire to own the newest iPhone over the latest hatchback. Young people aren’t even applying for a driver’s licence anymore. Why, you ask?

Well, that question was lingering while we were evaluating the contestants in our mega test to choose the top-ten machines of the year. As always, this is a great opportunity to get a sense of how the industry is evolving.

Also read: autoX Awards 2025, 19th Anniversary Mega Test

In India, there’s still a tremendous amount of latent demand – the rate of car ownership is 34 cars per 1,000 people versus 860 per 1,000 in the US, for instance. But there’s no doubt that regulation has meant that the average price of a car has skyrocketed over the past few years. Add to that speed cameras every quarter-of-a-mile in most developed markets, and it means that a lot of the allure, romanticism or freedom of car ownership has all but vanished.

That’s not to say that the cars themselves aren’t are good as they’ve ever been. That’s simply the nature of things. If that wasn’t the case, Darwin would be turning in his grave! But it’s also apparent that there simply aren’t any small, fun, and affordable cars on sale anymore.

Fortunately, cars are safer and more capable than they’ve ever been. Carmakers like Volvo are even contemplating a future in which they can eliminate fatalities entirely. But does that mean that every car on sale really needs to have lane-keeping assist, or radar-guided Level 3 ADAS, or cameras that read street signs? In most accidents, the sad truth is that the weak link is the squidgy mass of blood and guts that occupies the driver’s seat. But does that really warrant pricing young drivers out of the market entirely?

Sure, a driverless future will be a lot safer, but where does that leave those of us who actually enjoy the act of getting behind the wheel? For better or worse, an autonomous future isn’t particularly likely in India, given the chaos on our roads. All of which brings me to the Golf GTI, which (spoiler alert) scored particularly well in this year’s Mega Test.

Now, you’d be right in saying that a hatchback at well over 50 lakhs is about as niche as they come. And you’d be right. But VW India can’t import enough of them. 150 GTIs have flown off the shelves before they’ve even been unloaded from the container ships, and VW India is trying to get its hands on another allocation from Wolfsburg.

It's safe to say that the enthusiast community in India is growing faster than carmakers can keep up, but what we really need is a proper performance car that’s accessible to young Indian buyers who still value personal mobility more than the latest smartphone. And I’m not talking about adding a spoiler and some stickers to something masquerading as a hot hatch, I mean a car that actually stirs your soul and one that’s truly aspirational, yet accessible. Someone needs to introduce one fast, before we’re all forced into a future of insipid driverless pods.