Maruti Suzuki. People’s car. The car is easy to maintain, affordable to maintain and reliable, so no matter where you are in the country, you are spoiled for choice with Maruti-Suzuki’s vast sales and service network. There is no need to be. However till this part the story seems nice and sweet. But, there is a flip side to all this. Compromise on the one thing that is truly valuable, no matter what walk of life you come from. Safety
Global NCAP or GNCAP is an organization that conducts crash tests of cars for safety. For Indian products, GNCAP ratings can be trusted, and finally show the true colors of “safe” cars. It is quite sad that while making a practical product, Maruti Suzuki left out the most important thing, which is safety. For example, the Maruti Suzuki Swift, Espresso, and Ignis scored a disappointing 1-star rating in NCAP safety, for both adult and child safety. Let’s take a closer look at the Swift, as all cars are pretty much the same under the skin. The 2022 Maruti Suzuki Swift had an overall score of 19.19 out of 34 points in adult protection.
The car was tested for the frontal offset deformable barrier test where it scored 6.3 points and 12.9 points in the side movable deformable barrier test. In the frontal impact test, GNCAP found that the car provided good head and neck protection for the driver and passenger. However, the Swift’s protection for the driver’s chest was weak, although it was adequate for the passenger. In child protection, the car scored 16.68 out of 49, including a dynamic score of 12.82 points and a child restraint system installation score of 3.86 points.
David Ward, executive president of the Towards Zero Foundation, said,
“It is once again disappointing that Maruti Suzuki has been unable to match the safety advancements made by its competitors. At least now Indian government regulations are forcing the company to implement minimum safety standards. But surely they should care enough about their customers to do better than that.
FIA Foundation Executive Director Saul Billingsley said,
“The failure of all three tested Maruti Suzuki models to achieve a safe rating ignores the safety of Indian drivers, passengers and road users alike. The #SaferCarsForIndia campaign has shown that manufacturers are meeting the global NCAP safety standards. How quickly can they adapt and it is time for Maruti Suzuki to learn from other regional manufacturers like Mahindra.
I don’t know what you guys think, but I seriously hope Maruti Suzuki makes more powerful cars in the future. This lack of safety may not reduce their sales, but has affected its reputation, which may affect the brand’s strong reputation.