CARS24 has appointed MS Dhoni as goodwill ambassador for Crashfree India, a nationwide initiative focused on promoting responsible driving behaviour and reducing road accident fatalities across India.
The collaboration reflects the company’s growing commitment to addressing one of the country’s most pressing public safety challenges through sustained awareness and behavioural change efforts.
Crashfree India aims to encourage safer decision-making on the road by shifting public perception of safety from a rule-based obligation to a shared social responsibility. The initiative will focus on improving awareness around driving habits, strengthening accountability among motorists and encouraging more disciplined road behaviour through long-term engagement and communication.
India continues to report among the highest numbers of road accident fatalities globally, underlining the urgency of coordinated awareness efforts. In 2024, approximately 1,80,000 people lost their lives in road accidents, with overspeeding and inconsistent adherence to safety practices among the key contributing factors. The impact is particularly significant among younger demographics, with individuals aged between 18 and 34 accounting for a large proportion of fatalities, highlighting the importance of targeted behavioural change initiatives.
Commenting on the association, MS Dhoni said, “I have spent a big part of my life around cars, bikes, and roads. When you love driving and riding, you also learn to respect them. You understand that control matters, judgment matters, and patience matters. A vehicle gives you freedom, but it also gives you responsibility. On our roads, too many people still see safety as a rule to follow only when someone is watching. That mindset has cost us far too much. We already know what is going wrong. We know how many lives are being lost. We know the habits that put people in danger every day. What we need now is not more excuses. We need more responsibility, more discipline, and more respect for life.
“Roads may be beautiful, but they come with real risks. As much as we love them, they can be dangerous. We have the data. We know what the problem is. We know what needs to change. The only thing missing is the will to make it a priority. This isn’t something I was asked to do. This is something I decided to do.”
Vikram Chopra, Founder and CEO, Cars24, added, “Some missions need encouragement. This one needs scrutiny. Crashfree India cannot be built by people who only know how to say the right things. It needs someone who sets a harder standard: someone strict, deeply observant, unwilling to indulge comfortable language and clear enough to call out the truth without softening it. Dhoni is exactly that. He does not mince words, and that is one of the most valuable things about him. His understanding of Indian roads is grounded in lived experience rather than theory alone. Years of navigating them have given him insights into driver behaviour, road conditions, and the split-second decisions that matter most.
“Every meeting with him has been inspiring, not in a superficial way, but in a way that leaves you sharper, more serious and less satisfied with easy answers. Dhoni holds us to a higher standard, and his involvement challenges us to push this mission further. That changes the seriousness of the work. And that is exactly what this mission needs.”
Dhoni has been associated with CARS24 since 2019 as both an investor and brand ambassador. His expanded role within Crashfree India signals the company’s continued evolution towards purpose-led positioning, as digital automotive platforms increasingly align brand building with initiatives that create measurable social impact.
Through Crashfree India, CARS24 aims to build a sustained nationwide movement that promotes responsible driving decisions, improves understanding of road safety risks and contributes to reducing accident-related fatalities over the long term.
