Car Buying Glossary
Every term on a dealer quote, spec sheet or insurance policy — decoded in plain language, with the numbers that matter in India.
ADAS
ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems) is an umbrella term for camera- and radar-based features that help prevent accidents — such as autonomous emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, lane keep assist and blind spot monitoring. The driver stays fully responsible; ADAS watches the road and intervenes with warnings, braking or steering corrections when it detects danger.
AMT (Automated Manual Transmission)
An AMT (Automated Manual Transmission) is a regular manual gearbox fitted with electro-hydraulic actuators that operate the clutch and shift gears for you. There is no clutch pedal, so an AMT drives like an automatic, but the hardware underneath is a manual — which makes it the cheapest automatic option sold in India.
ARAI Mileage
ARAI mileage is the fuel-efficiency figure certified by the Automotive Research Association of India, measured in a laboratory on a standardised driving cycle. It is the official number carmakers quote in brochures and advertisements, expressed in km/l (or km per kWh for EVs). Because the test is gentler than real traffic, actual mileage is usually 10–20% lower.
Bharat NCAP
Bharat NCAP (BNCAP) is India's official car crash-test programme, run by the Ministry of Road Transport under the AIS-197 standard since October 2023. It crash-tests India-made cars and awards 0–5 star ratings separately for adult and child occupant protection, giving buyers a standardised, local measure of how safe a car really is.
Boot Space
Boot space is the luggage-carrying capacity of a car's cargo area, measured in litres. In India, hatchbacks typically offer around 250–350 litres, compact SUVs and sedans 350–450 litres, and midsize SUVs 400–500 litres or more. It is one of the most practical specs to compare, deciding how many suitcases a family trip can carry.
CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission)
A CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission) is an automatic gearbox that uses a steel belt running between two variable-width pulleys instead of fixed gears. Because the pulleys can slide to any ratio, a CVT delivers seamless, jerk-free acceleration with no gear shifts at all — making it the smoothest automatic type in city driving.
DCT (Dual-Clutch Transmission)
A DCT (Dual-Clutch Transmission) is an automatic gearbox that uses two separate clutches — one handling odd gears, the other even gears — so the next gear is pre-selected before you need it. Shifts happen in milliseconds with no interruption in power, making the DCT the quickest and most engaging automatic type sold in India.
e-CVT
An e-CVT (electronic Continuously Variable Transmission) is the drive system used in strong hybrid cars. Despite the name, it has no belt or pulleys like a regular CVT — instead, a planetary gearset blends power from the petrol engine and electric motors seamlessly, so the car accelerates smoothly with no gear shifts and no clutch at all.
EV Subsidies in India
EV subsidies in India are government incentives that lower the cost of electric vehicles. For private electric car buyers in 2026, there is no direct central purchase subsidy — FAME-II ended in March 2024, and its successor PM E-DRIVE excludes private cars. The real benefits are a concessional 5% GST and state-level road tax waivers.
Ex-showroom Price
Ex-showroom price is the price of a car at the dealership before it is registered for road use. In India it includes the factory cost, dealer margin and GST with compensation cess, but excludes road tax, registration charges, insurance and TCS. It is the headline price manufacturers advertise, and the base on which most other charges are calculated.
Extended Warranty
Extended warranty is paid coverage that lengthens your car's standard manufacturer warranty, typically by one to three extra years or a higher kilometre cap. It covers repair or replacement of mechanical and electrical failures — engine, gearbox, electronics — but not wear-and-tear items, and it must usually be purchased before the standard warranty expires.
FASTag
FASTag is India's electronic toll-collection sticker: an RFID tag fixed to the windscreen that automatically deducts toll charges from a linked prepaid wallet or bank account as you pass through plazas. It has been mandatory for all four-wheelers since February 2021, and every new car sold in India comes with a FASTag issued at the dealership.
Global NCAP
Global NCAP is an independent, UK-based crash-test organisation, a project of the Towards Zero Foundation, that rates cars from 0 to 5 stars for adult and child occupant protection. Its Safer Cars for India campaign, launched in 2014, crash-tested India-made cars for the first time and forced structural safety into showroom conversations.
Ground Clearance
Ground clearance is the distance between the lowest point of a car's underbody and the road, measured in millimetres. It determines whether the car scrapes over speed breakers, potholes and broken roads — a daily concern in India — with most cars sold here offering between 165 mm and 230 mm.
Hypothecation
Hypothecation is the recording of a lender's charge on your car's registration certificate (RC) when the vehicle is bought on a loan. The car stays in your name and your possession, but the bank's financial interest is noted with the RTO until the loan is fully repaid and the hypothecation is formally removed.
IDV (Insured Declared Value)
IDV (Insured Declared Value) is the maximum amount your car insurer will pay if the vehicle is stolen or damaged beyond repair. It represents the car's current market value — broadly the ex-showroom price minus age-based depreciation on a schedule set by IRDAI. Your own-damage premium is calculated on the IDV, so it directly shapes both cost and cover.
Kerb Weight
Kerb weight is the weight of a car ready to drive but with no occupants or luggage — including all fluids, standard equipment and (by convention in India) a fuel tank at or near full. It is the baseline figure for judging a car's fuel efficiency, performance and agility, since every extra kilogram must be accelerated, braked and steered.
NCB (No Claim Bonus)
NCB (No Claim Bonus) is a discount on the own-damage portion of your car insurance premium, earned for every year you don't make a claim. In India it starts at 20% after one claim-free year and climbs on a fixed slab — 20%, 25%, 35%, 45% — to a maximum of 50% after five consecutive claim-free years.
On-road Price
On-road price is the total amount you actually pay to drive a new car home in India. It adds state road tax and registration charges, mandatory insurance, TCS (on cars above ₹10 lakh) and small charges like FASTag to the ex-showroom price. Depending on your state and the car, it is typically 10–25% higher than the ex-showroom price.
Road Tax
Road tax is a one-time state government levy paid when a new car is registered, calculated as a percentage of its ex-showroom price. Rates in India range from about 4% to over 20% depending on the state, the car's price slab and its fuel type, making road tax the single biggest addition to your on-road price.
RTO (Regional Transport Office)
The RTO (Regional Transport Office) is the state government office that registers motor vehicles, issues registration certificates (RC) and number plates, collects road tax, and issues driving licences under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. Every new car in India must be registered with an RTO before it can legally be driven on public roads.
Strong Hybrid vs Mild Hybrid
A strong hybrid can drive on electric power alone using a large battery and traction motor, while a mild hybrid cannot — its small motor-generator only assists the petrol engine during acceleration and restarts. The difference shows in fuel economy: strong hybrids save 35–45% fuel in city driving, mild hybrids typically under 10%.
TCS on Cars
TCS on cars is Tax Collected at Source: a 1% levy that dealers must collect on any motor vehicle sold for more than ₹10 lakh, under Section 206C(1F) of the Income Tax Act. It is not an extra cost — the amount is credited against your PAN and can be adjusted against your income tax or claimed as a refund.
Torque Converter Automatic
A torque converter automatic is the traditional automatic gearbox that uses a fluid coupling — a sealed doughnut of oil — instead of a clutch to connect the engine to the gears. Because there is no clutch to wear or overheat, it is the most durable and proven automatic type, especially for heavy cars and stop-go Indian traffic.
Zero-depreciation Insurance
Zero-depreciation insurance — also called nil-dep or bumper-to-bumper cover — is an add-on to a comprehensive car policy that pays the full cost of parts replaced in a claim, without deducting depreciation. Under a standard policy, plastic and rubber parts are depreciated at 50%, so zero-dep cover can substantially raise your claim payout on even a minor repair.