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-   -   Maruti considering safety features even for small cars (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/road-safety/163291-maruti-considering-safety-features-even-small-cars.html)

Maruti changes gears on safety.

http://www.autocarpro.in/news-nation...iesel-car-8290

Maruti is a very responsive company, and I was surprised that they did not act faster. But better late than never, I guess.

Could you please elaborate what you meant by 'responsive'?

Well they do take immediate action when a customer complains of bad service. That's responsive.

They also launch products that meet the need of the consumer. Not for nothing are 8 of the top 10 highest selling models, Maruti cars.
That's responsive.

They launched the first AMT car in India. That's responsive.

Did you get it?

Well in that case 'responsive' would also mean that when their cars fail crash tests royally, their chairman comes out with theories which say their cars are safer than a bicycle & a scooter, that if they would include safety features in their cars than it would somehow increase road fatalities.

Its been quite some time since Swift scored zero in GNCAP crash tests & I still cant see Maruti's 'responsive' culture. They have been happily selling zero rated tin can stuff to its buyers right from the Alto to the Swift/Dzire, Omni, Eeco, Ritz & almost every other car that they have. Perhaps when it comes to human life & its value, Maruti Suzuki's response is zero.

Such Idiotic comments from the chairman of India's biggest car maker is nothing but crying over spilt milk. This man''s worries too are genuine from his business prospects. He is obvious to start crying foul play as the 2 of his company's cash cows namely Alto and Swift are at bottom of safety charts. If Airbags and ABS are made compulsory , the price if Alto goes up by around 35 thousand in cash and hence Maruti looses its biggest asset , The lowest prices.

You're absolutely right in saying that Maruti cars are faring pathetically in the Ncap crash tests and I cannot help but agree that Maruti needs to be more attentive to customer safety. Their chairman's statement was ridiculous and he was justifiably lampooned for those comments.

However, you must give credit where it is due and you have to admit that inspite of the widely publicised bad crash ratings, their cars still set the sales charts on fire. So there must be something that they are doing right.

My immediate post where I said that Maruti is finally doing something about introducing safety features was in response to this article: http://www.autocarpro.in/news-nation...iesel-car-8290

Don't you think that they deserve appreciation for finally trying to launch safer cars?

If they are, then recognition is in order.

Appreciation, in the circumstances, might be going a bit far. Lets see what they do first.

In light of recent events, Maruti has drawn flak for offering cheaper cars, while compromising on passenger safety. Extensive safety features have largely been restricted to higher variants of car models, but a recent report suggests that Maruti could soon offer more safety tech on its entry level cars as well.

Link to Team-BHP news article

Seems like a PR stunt more than anything. If they really wanted to think about everyone's safety they would not skimp out on structural integrity of their locally manufactured products.

Responsive? I totally disagree because they already have these being manufactured here for export markets. What stopped them from offering them as options on the Alto/K10 thereby giving options to the customers to choose whether they would like to pay extra for these.

They may cry foul over making these compulsory (which again will be across board and every entry level car/hatch will be impacted so no reason to cry) but the fact that these are not even offered as optional by Maruti, I cannot call them responsive.

I would like to see the day come sooner where the manufacturers are mandated by law to disclose the crash test scores for each and every car, on its brochure. I still know that Maruti will continue to sell in good numbers their low crash rating cars, but as a buyer/customer I expect this basic disclosure, during the buying process, which is so important to car ownership.

The fact that we Indians continue to buy their tin cans is due to their very low maintenance costs, very good mileage per litre of fuel and very high resale value. We are still in the "who gives a damn about the crash test scores" age.

The biggest disappointment for me is that because of the sales that Maruti generates MOM, other manufacturers somewhere started compromising on the safety features to bring their product at prices which can compete with Maruti

This is my biggest worry and it can be seen in the GNCAP ratings of GO. Maruti started a race to the bottom which others are participating in. Only a government mandated crash test standard or India NCAP will stop this.
Its just like how our electrical and gas appliances have some minimum standards for safety.

How can Maruti blamed for this? In fact for other manufacturer its a great opportunity that they should show world that they can offer safety features at the same price or little extra. Who is stopping them? If someone is doing wrong thing, why follow them? Isn't it bad of them? If Toyota, Honda, Ford etc start giving safety features at same cost of Maruti or little extra, slowly people will move towards them. Then vice-versa can happen, Maruti will follow them to regain their market share. Maruti not giving, so others are also not giving is a really bad excuse for me. I feel companies should give priority to ABS, Airbags over features like music system, electric folding OVRM, cooled glove box, alloy wheels etc which are so called cool features.

I do not blame Maruti at all for it. According to me, blame lies on the customers ignoring safety and preferring the cars cheaper (read-stripped from all safety features) I am sure an Alto with safety features will hardly sell in good numbers vis-a-vis the regular model 25-30k cheaper. But that should not stop the manufacturers from offering the option, esp when they already produce it for exports. That is my opinion on Maruti being responsive. I do not blame Maruti for all the "0" crash test scoring cars plying on Indian roads.

Because of the volume, Maruti affords a thinner margin per car, Others cannot afford. It is out of question to offer all safety features at prices same as Maruti cars without any safety features. If it was possible, it would have been done already as other manufacturers are trying hard to showcase advantages of their cars over Maruti.
It is business, and if cars with all safety features do not sell, they strip it to bring it at the competition level. It all boils down to the bottom line.

So yes, for me, that is a disappointment. In the people ignoring the safety and the manufacturers disregarding it completely at entry level cars.

ABS, airbags, etc are important, but it begins with the parts that don't look any different and don't show up on any list of specs in the brochure. It begins with the body itself.

This is a new thread, hopefully a new chapter, but it remains to be seen if there will be real substantive changes.

There are many Maruti owners here. Many of them are devoted to their vehicles. I'm an ex-Swift owner and I was very disappointed that quality issues made me have to sell it, but even then, I had no idea that the Swift body I was sold in India was any different to the award-winning vehicle sold in Europe.

OK, so I am not so technically well informed as many here; I don't have so much interest in the beneath-the-skin aspects of cars. How about everyone else? How many Maruti owners. ex-owners, potential owners, knew that, leaving features and options aside completely, are aware that their vehicle may be intrinsically, structually, less safe than the same vehicle sold in another country.

This is what the original thread had at its core. Is there any real news of real change?