Maruti Suzuki. The car of the people. The car is easy to maintain, cheap to maintain, and reliable, so no matter what corner of the country you are in, you do not have to worry because of Maruti-Suzuki’s huge sales and service network. However, till this part, the story sounds good and sweet. But, there is a flip side to all of this. A compromise on that one thing that is really valuable, no matter whatever 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 end up showing the true colors of “safe” cars. It is quite sad that while making practical products, Maruti Suzuki skipped out on the most important thing, which is safety. For example, the Maruti Suzuki Swift, S Presso, and Ignis have scored a disappointing 1-star rating in NCAP safety, for both adult and child safety. Let us take a closer look at the Swift since all the cars are almost the same under the skin. The overall score of the 2022 Maruti Suzuki Swift was 19.19 out of 34 points in adult occupant protection.
The car was tested for a frontal offset deformable barrier test where it scored 6.3 points and a side movable deformable barrier test where it scored 12.9 points. In the frontal impact test, the GNCAP found that the car provided good protection to the driver and passenger’s head and neck. However, Swift’s protection for the driver’s chest was weak, even though it was adequate for the passenger. In child occupant 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 again disappointing that Maruti Suzuki have failed to match the safety progress being made by their competitors. At least now Indian Government regulations are forcing the company to apply minimum safety standards. But surely they should care enough about their customers to do much better than that.”
Saul Billingsley, Executive Director of FIA Foundation said,
“The failure of all three tested Maruti Suzuki models to achieve a safe rating showcases a disregard for the safety of Indian drivers, passengers and road users alike. The #SaferCarsForIndia campaign has shown how quickly manufacturers can adapt to meet Global NCAP’s safety standards and it is time for Maruti Suzuki to learn from other regional manufacturers like Mahindra.”
I don’t know what you people think, but I seriously hope that Maruti Suzuki makes more robust cars in the future. This lack of safety might not slow down its sales but has affected its reputation, something that might affect the strong credibility of the brand.