[gopalnt]

The Boss is missing some facts or doesn't want to say that. A car, because of its caged shell will give a false sense of security, especially to the first time drivers. A "family-man" who drives a bike sedately with his wife & kid on the back would take more chances with a car, because he will feel he is under the protection of a shell. If at all someone needs these safety features in the car, it is those who are upgrading from 2w to 4w.

And with Maruti, whose shell stability itself has been a question mark, he may be right that there is no point in having Airbags!

[sudeepg]

Originally Posted by vinair

This is what the top guy at Maruti thinks about regulations around safety!

....

Such a pathetic comment

Indeed, such a pathetic comment. His rationale seems to be based off selling cars to two wheeler owners trying to upgrade to a four wheeler. Is that it? As our road infrastructure improves, especially with broader multi lane highways and cars getting better and better, does he expect that safety should take a back seat? Are lives of Maruti customers using their cars in highways not a matter of importance for the company? Why should adding safety equipment escalate the costs to a very high level when it is mass manufactured? I just don't get his point that safety features alone makes the car very expensive.

I find it amusing that the head of the topmost market share manufacturer in India made such loose remarks!

No wonder their products are behind in quality. I'll take this remark seriously when I consider Maruti in my next purchase.

[Turrrb0]

Originally Posted by anish5225

But what the boss donot want to mention is that the same third world souls in India are paying much more than what the developed countries pay for the exact same model sold with all safety features as standard.

This statement is incorrect. The swift you get in Europe with all features and safety kit is way more expensive than what we get here. Infact it's starting price in the UK for example is 12,499 GBP which translates to around 11L INR. Where as in India the staring price of the petrol swift is 5.14 L.

IMO it's unfair to expect what is available abroad at our Indian prices (Which everyone already finds overpriced). I guess it's our countrymen's mentality to want the Eifel tower for the price at which they sell those tacky scale model keychains below it.

To drive my point further let me share the safety specs sheet of the base model SZ3 swift in the UK (11L) compared to our top end ZXI+ swift (~8.5L OTR) in india.

Why do you think VW is hesitating to get the new polo to India. It will cost a lot(which it fairly would) and no one will buy it.

Bottom line. We get what we pay for.

Source:
https://cars.suzuki.co.uk/new-cars/swift/sz3/
https://www.zigwheels.com/newcars/Ma...-plus#leadform

[laser2707]

Mr. Bhargava's remarks have generated a lot of debate. As an industry doyen, more precisely someone who put India on the global automap, this is somewhat patronizing.

Nonetheless, if customers keep asking OEM's "Kitna Deti Hai" all the time, can OEM's be blamed for being fixated only on the "Lowest Common Denominator" in all aspects of a car. Especially "Safety"?

In all fairness, Maruti has increased safety features across its range. Yes, this led to costs going up pushing it out of reach of many buyers.

Which leads me to the next hot button topic. Increase of fines for traffic violations. We all want our right of way & care two hoots for others on the road or their safety. When the government decides to clamp down there is a hue & cry. Now some state governments in a populist measure are rolling back the fines.

We all want safe cars, decongested roads, orderly traffic but when measures are put in place to ensure these, our hackles get raised.

[Renjith Rajan]

When Maruti is selling tin cans at cheap price, other manufacturers has to build India specific tin cans at equally cheaper price to survive. This is not good for customer safety. This is where government has to step in and set things straight. People like Bhargava may crib, but will fall in place eventually.

[adityasatish]

Originally Posted by chinkara

I checked pricing for Duster when I bought my car. I realized most of the difference was due to duties and taxes in India.

The difference in price comes in vehicles lower down the ladder which don't have many safety features as standard. In most Maruti vehicles, safety is an after thought, hence, becomes very expensive to implement regulatory changes as and when needed. If safety is embedded into the vehicle characteristics from the design stage, it changes the whole game. Take for example Tata Nexon, has a 5 star NCAP rating and still works out to about the same (if not less) as an equally specced Brezza .

[tirumalavoleti]

Very sad to see such comments. This shows how the Automobile industry has been guided by the grand parent.

Its glad that govt brought in the safety regulations, if not India would still have the unsafe cars with all gizmos and no safety.

Coming to 2 wheeler migration, it would make worse to take a unsafe 4 wheeler on highway than driving a 2 wheeler in city. The moment anyone possess car, they would go for highway which would risk the entire family.

Industry is bleeding not because of safety feature, but because of abnormal taxes and unnecessary gizmos. What would make sense for a connected car, allow wheels and high end audio, when there is no ABS and Airbag.

If customers do not take it serious, its the industry which should guide rather than sell tins for less price.

[Mafioso]

Maruti's attitude towards safety has always been debatable! This is not the first time Mr Bargava is making such statements, instead of crying foul and blaming the government they should focus on innovative ways to provide safety features as a standard! Being such a big car company and having so many engineers and designers they are focused only on serving below par cars with tin like structures and always focusing on profit!

[aniketi]

When government make helmet compulsory, people protested in many areas of India. Today also we can see crores of people riding without helmet everyday on Indian roads in every part of India, irrespective of it is compulsory or not. People know the risk in it and they have accepted it. Similarly when people are buying a car, they know which features are there and which are not in the car. No company is cheating anyone here. Now government has made basic safety features compulsory, it is going to cost some money for sure. Obviously it will have impact on car sales, Maruti knows it better than anybody else as they own half of Indian car market. I think they know better about Indian customer's mindset than all of us, that's why they are holding their number 1 status for very long time in competition with world's best Auto manufacturer's.

After all it's people who need to take decision, weather to go for it or not for added cost. It's about their safety and not government's or companies. At the end of the day, companies will sell products which customers like, which customers will afford, which customers will buy.

[abhishek46]

A Car is safer than a scooter, does not mean that all scooter-wallas will have to throw away their machines and drive around in Cars only.

In the same way, a Train has more mass than a Car. So, in a way, it is much safer than a Car. So, do all the Car-wallas throw away their Cars and use only Trains?

[aveoman19]

I don't find it surprising at all. For a brand that prides in giving the basic safety features like front airbags and ABS as a premium "NEXA" safety shield and innumerable cases of Ciaz and Baleno seen torn like tin foil, at least they are providing disc brakes and headlights as basic safety features.

What almost all the manufacturers in India (not only Maruti) is doing including Volkswagen, Hyundai, Jeep, Honda etc. for that matter is cost cutting with the most basic passive safety feature, the lack of 3 point seat belt for all passengers. You pay 21 lakhs for a Kia Seltos and get that useless piece of dangling fabric that looks, feels and has poor function called the lap belt (I call it the "Nada" of Pyjamas). The Mahindra Alturas is another example where you pay 30 plus big ones to get that POS lap belt. Indian market isn't willing to look at these glaring omission in the cars and the manufacturers are left Scot free.

[DreamsUnlimited]

I would just ask one questions, what percentage of two wheeler owners take their rides on highways cruising at 80+ kmph with families?

Contrast that with number of 4 wheelers that are taken on open highways where most of the safety features (or lack thereof) come into equation. I for one own an Activa which has never been out of city perimeter in its entire lifetime of 4+ years. IMHO, we are comparing two different things here. And, going little extreme, I would say discourage people owning tin cans if they can not afford safe products. That way our democracy's focus will also shift to essential things like basic infrastructure including safe roads and efficient public transport. This in turn should help avoid making our cities crammed and congested. I am probably sounding idealist but hey, we gotta start somewhere, Singapore was a very different country just 55 years ago!

[procrastinator]

I could be the one talking otherwise but I feel he has a valid point to make on safety.
With the income of people in India, car itself is a luxury.
His point in making airbags and abs mandatory and increase in cost is also valid. He knows the structure of cars offered is weak and thus add little advantage with safety features.
Hence it is perceived safety sold to consumers who are paying for it as well.

Government should start testing the cars if they want safety to match international standards.
Government should also reform the taxes on fuel by adjusting the tax structure.
Promote the hybrids (first) and EVs.

Also, they should have a better plan for road infrastructure especially in cities.
Everyone wants to reach home and office timely. Lane discipline, no honking and traffic rules enforcement is way to go.
Trust me, apart from cars, roads will be become safer.
Good Luck to all of us, I hope it happens sooner than later.

[COMMUTER]

2017 EUROPEAN SWIFT 4 STARS

2017 EUROPEAN SWIFT 9K GBP(`8 LACS)

Maruti had sent better cars with better build quality AND interiors to Europe at cheaper prices than the TOP-ENDs sold here. The cars sold by Maruti here are sorry imitations mimicking the CARS sold to Europeans in external looks alone.

I am sure that almost all the cars sold by Maruti would have been over 4 Lacs with at least 75% of them being sold for over 6.5 Lacs. I am sure that barring S-cross and Brezza all other cars by Maruti are having terribly unsafe build and are no different from in safety aspects when compared to Maruti's lowest priced offerings.

How can Maruti build vastly better cars, ship them 11,000(?) kms and then sell them at a lower price in EUROPE after paying the additional customs levied by the Europeans?

The European models sold by Maruti would have required better and more expensive emission controls too.

Stop taking Indians for a ride Mr R C Bhargava. Just enjoy the party as long as Indians choose to remain gullible and as long as the Government keeps refusing to implement crash testing to reduce the 3 Lac+ annual road casualties.

[simeonovitch]

This forum just loves to hate Maruti, and will worship Tata, no matter what.

Tata "I wanted to make a car so that a family will not travel on bike"
Team-BHP : OMG!!! What a visionary. So thoughtful.

RC Bhargava: cars are getting too expensive, motorcyclists won't be able to upgrade.
Team-BHP : ***! You make tin cans. You have no right to talk about safety. You only care about profits