[SulemanP]

IMHO MSIL is a Blueyed boy of the government so they might be able get through with the comment. That said the driving conditions and other related things indeed are not that good when it comes to common man driving/riding on our roads.

Thanks to our homegrown players that safety is now a point considered by many car buyers both repeat customers & 1st time buyers.

It is good to see that people just not ask for 'kitna deti hai' but they also enquire about 'safety stars' and decide accordingly.

[Carevidence]

Originally Posted by landcruiser123

There is some truth to that statement. Active safety devices (like ABS) will prevent some accidents, but a significant reduction in the # of accidents will occur with better driver training and infrastructure.

However, the safety systems (active and passive) will help save many more lives/prevent serious injuries in accidents involving cars.

Both will take a lot of time and effort, but getting the auto industry to add safety features is far easier for a government like ours to do rather than overhauling and cleaning the mess in most RTOs.

This is not a Maruti specific chicken and egg issue, surely taxation is over the top in India where cars are considered luxury items pushing up prices to unreasonable levels, but safety is another matter, and I am convinced that accident prevention is first about safe practices,proper training standards ,safe driving and good maintainence , backed up by cast iron monitoring, read corruption free.
Seat belts and others are like PPE, unfortunately the last barrier.By this time, you're on very thin ice as to which way any accident will go.
At the moment driving standards as well as roads are so poor in general and have been for a long time that they have become a terrible benchmark.

That is not to say that cars need not have seat belts or good tyres or crash ratings, that is the purview of the insurance companies (and certain minimum hardware standards need to be set by regulatory authorities where the 6 airbag rules are a step in the right direction), insurance are the ones who should be charging more for less seat belts etc as well as for poor driving records.That is what should determine customer choice.

[vamsi_k_b]

Originally Posted by SulemanP

It is good to see that people just not ask for 'kitna deti hai' but they also enquire about 'safety stars' and decide accordingly.

Well Said, but a lot more needs to be done when it comes to make potential buyers aware of Safety ratings.

When I asked about NCAP ratings at a Nexa Showroom, the sales person mentioned that NCAP is not applicable in India and that all their cars were perfectly safe for Indian Conditions.

[anandhsub]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

“Putting NCAP standards into cars in india will have no significant impact on number of accidents at all. Prevention far better than cure,” he ends with.

This is like a Pharma company selling a placebo instead of insulin claiming that it anyway does not cure diabetes and people should change their lifestyle in order to prevent diabetes.

[Cresterk]

Originally Posted by vivek.ks

Mr. Bhargava makes few more ridiculous statements post Swift, Ignis and S-Presso scoring 0 in NCAP tests.

https://www.evoindia.com/motorsport/...h-test-results

Given the price point at which Maruti offers it's car and the features included with them, safety definitely takes a back seat. We would not see any changes unless cars with less than 3 star rating are being prevented from getting sold in the market.

Looks like Maruti PR department fed him those lines
When you are practicing your safe, defensive driving in your Maruti because the CEO said being in a tin can makes you drive safer , the SUV filled with drunken college kids racing a businessman's son in his father's Audi ends up jumping a signal and crashing into you. All your defensive driving instincts won't help you, your family and whoever else was unlucky enough to be in your car from being ground into tomato paste as your entire car crumbles into you. Yes, our roads are filled with imbeciles but that's just an argument for getting a safer car that doesn't crumple like paper mache.

Originally Posted by volkman10

Cannot grow an auto sector with 50% taxation: R C Bhargava

Attachment 2392203

This part is correct. You can't really develop world class products and compete on the international stage when your products are designed with the excessive tax and arbitrary rules like sub 4m length, 1,5L engine etc in mind. Our homegrown cars just don't sell well abroad (other than some 3rd world countries) because they come with compromises the average person there won't accept. Excessive taxation only compounds the problem as even a small amount of money spent in building a better car will lead to a huge increase in total cost borne by the customer. They say high taxes will lead to fewer cars and less traffic but all it has lead to is more unsafe, jugaad cars on the road.

[Ton Ami]

From my understanding his views are certainly to divert the attention from Maruti's business model to other issues.

He is well aware that if maruti starts making safer cars (read heavier), then along with the increase in cost the bigger impact will be drop in mileage figures. With hybrids still a little away into the future for mainstream cars, a drop in fuel efficiency and higher price tag for safer cars will partly take away the competitive advantage of Maruti, i.e. Price & Mileage.

[Pyrotek]

I am surprised how some responsible members of team BHP are defending RC Bhargava here. If we go by his comments, one can then expect that the Swift manufactured in India to our specifications can be sold in Europe and be a safer product as Europe has better roads and better driver education. Doesn't that sound silly? Why should the same car be built to different structural specifications for different markets? That is the crux of the issue. If Tata, Mahindra, and Skoda/VW can offer safety at the same price point, Maruti has no excuse. Any responsible member of Team BHP who is drinking the Maruti Kool-aid is deluding themselves. Do not be fooled. Maruti fully deserves the bad optics it is receiving. It's up to them to demonstrate humility and improve. The other aforementioned companies did so and are reaping the benefit.

[NewUser123]

Originally Posted by jalex77

Hi Lowflyer23,

You can directly counter my comment and I have no issues with that. I'd always prefer to stand corrected when proven wrong, no egos here.

Also feel free to report my post to the mods if you feel it's misinformation, not a fact, name calling, age shaming or defamatory in nature.

P.S: I do not have any role/vested interests in Maruti or am I in any position to influence membership approval or infraction processes here on the forum.

Based on this article, https://auto.economictimes.indiatime...3-end/89621291

Which states “ The Global New Car Assessment Programme (GNCAP) will start crash testing cars in India, if things go as planned. The safety watchdog, under The Towards Zero Foundation, a UK-registered charity…”, I feel you are correct.

If this is not so, can someone who knows better, please clarify???

[Silent Buddha]

As someone has already pointed out. There are essentially 3 components which ensures safety on road:

1. Safe Roads
2. Safe Drivers
3. Safe Vehicles

Maruti Chairman is absolutely correct when he is questioning the Govt's role in ensuring that the first two basic things ensuring safety are met. Safer roads along with well trained and tested drivers. And his statement regarding cars is also true for say someone with a family of four but has a budget of only purchasing bikes. A car is going to be anyday safer for them. But the same statement doesn't apply to some of their premium models. For eg: 1 star rating for S Presso or Alto may be acceptable. But why don't they offer safe chassis especially when it comes to models like Baleno or Ertiga? They charge good money for both of them.

The same logic applies to even Hyundai/Kia. They take good money but the cars have been tested to be unsafe in India while safe in other markets.

That said I think the Indian mindset is now slowly changing. The improvement in public infrastructure might help those family of 4 to avail more public transport instead of buying a small car. And the one's paying those big bucks are becoming more and more safety conscious. If Maruti is interested in retaining the top position they have to invest in redevelopment of their "heartache" platform and improve it's crash test ratings. Otherwise there are brands now who are rising up and can eventually eat into Maruti's share significantly in long run.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by jalex77

"Global" NCAP is a darn fancy name for a UK registered charitable organization that tests cars made for India and Africa.
And very interesting to see a whole thread dedicated to bashing Mr. RC Bhargava, largely based on the results of this "charity's" certification program.

Your post is a slur that seems to condemn Global NCAP for being British and/or being registered as a charity.

Tell us why.

Originally Posted by JReacher13

Suzuki always had models that met crash testing norms in other markets.

That's the bottom line. Cars made unsafe --- for India.

[trail_lover]

By and large I agree to Team-BHPians views. But a few point blank questions for Maruti Suzuki:

1) If Maruti Suzuki is so concerned about road safety in this nation, and says high taxation is the main cause for cars with sub-standard safety, why did you sell me a car without a left hand side ORVM in 2007? WHY? Will the customer not pay Rs.500 more on your ex-showroom price for that ORVM?

Production line throughput and profiteering always took the front seat at Maruti. NEVER EVER did they think of customer safety.

In the year 2014, the nation awakened to the POOR safety standards of Maruti Suzuki cars when a Honorable Union Government minister lost his life in the rear seat of a Maruti SX4 from a side collision. Even an expensive car such as SX4 from Maruti had poor crashworthiness.

This shows Maruti was in slumber accepting tax hikes over the decades and were waiting for the government to regulate them on safety and crashworthiness, rather than do it proactively. Until then they chose to profiteer even on expensive models in which they could afford to give world class safety and crashworthiness. Example: Maruti Suzuki SX4

2) If Maruti Suzuki is blaming high taxation today, why didn't they raise an alarm throughout the many tax hikes over the decades? Over the decades until 2014, Maruti Suzuki never went on record that high taxes would be detrimental to making safer cars as road speeds were rising every day. Over the decades as taxes went higher and higher, they chose to make lighter and lighter cars to lower their selling price or keep it constant.

3) Why did Maruti Suzuki make two types of cars of varying safety standards? A much safer version of the same model made in India used to be exported to Europe, and bare bones versions with poor safety standards used to be sold in India. Aren't people in India human beings?

4) Ironically, OEM with high ethical standards which made cars sincerely with uniform global safety standards ended up with higher costs, and had to exit the country. eg. FIAT

5) Why did Maruti take the elimination, substitution and reduction route rather than jump on the safety bandwagon with other international OEM like FIAT, VW which made very safe cars? Don't you have any ethical standards in terms of safety?

Maruti Suzuki cant say things to cover up these truths and distract the Indian customer.

[vedirah]

Originally Posted by jalex77

Simple question is, Why should they?
Why GNCAP?
Is GNCAP as an organization anything like the EuroNCAP or IIHS where pioneers of safety manufacturers like Volvo send their cars for testing?

Who audits GNCAP?Who are they associated with and accountable to? Why are their interests centred around India and Africa alone? Who audits them? What's global about them?

Why should someone be trolled or ridiculed for asking these questions or anything else on the lines?

Valid point. Let's ask maruti instead to send their vehicles to EuroNCAP. Do you think they will pass then? I'd love to see that. And remember, we need to send their India specific vehicles, not the safer ones they sell in Europe.

The question isn't about who is auditing the organization or who they are accountable to. I don't give two hoots about that. They have some clearly laid out rules and protocols for testing, and I expect any well engineered vehicle to pass those tests.

Now, are you suggesting GNCAP is blatantly lying in their test reports? Or somehow messing with the experiments? If that's what you are saying, then maruti has other ways of showing crash worthiness of their cars. But they just seem not interested in any form of testing their cars.

[GTO]

Mod Note: This topic has been discussed enough. Closing thread.