Maruti Suzuki India, the country’s largest carmaker’s two most popular offerings the WagonR and Alto K10 have performed poorly in the latest results of the Global NCAP crash test. With this the Global NCAP has tested 14 models from Maruti Suzuki India in the last 9-years, starting with the Alto way back in 2014 to the newly announced result today.
The Maruti Suzuki WagonR scored one star in adult occupant protection and zero for child occupant protection. While the Maruti Suzuki Alto K10 scored two stars for adult occupant protection and zero for child occupant protection.
It is important to note that the Alto K10 and WagonR are amongst the top-selling car models across the country. The Alto in its current avatar has undergone a lot of changes since its first introduction in India on September 27, 2000. The WagonR on the other hand was introduced in December 1999, and at present competes against the Tata Tiago and the Hyundai i10 among others. For the period of April 2022 – February 2023, a total of 170,559 units of the Alto and 195,035 WagonR were sold in the country.
Amongst the various Maruti Suzuki India models that have been tested by Global NCAP, the Vitara Brezza SUV (4-star rating) and Ertiga SUV (3-star rating) have scored the highest in terms of safety for the company.
According to the results, the Maruti Suzuki Alto K10 showed a stable structure and marginal to good protection for adult chest to head in the frontal impact, it showed weak protection to the chest in the side impact. The WagonR also offered weak chest protection for the driver despite the improvements in the restraint systems by Maruti Suzuki since the previous version of the model was tested by Global NCAP.
Global NCAP states that Maruti Suzuki India declined to nominate a Child Restraint System (CRS) for child passengers. The lack of three-point belts in all seating positions and the lack of standard airbags disabling for a rear-facing CRS in the front seating position explains the zero score for child protection in both Maruti Suzuki’s models.
Alejandro Furas, Secretary General of Global NCAP said, “Since 2014 Global NCAP has been encouraging a market shift in India for safer cars. We have been delighted with the positive response from Indian automakers and some global automakers as well. Although there has been some limited improvement, we are yet to see this safety commitment deployed in the most popular Maruti Suzuki models. Given that six airbags are becoming a mandatory requirement for new models sold in India, it is particularly worrying for Global NCAP that Maruti Suzuki does not even make this requirement available as a customer option.”
David Ward, President of the Towards Zero Foundation said, “Another strong performance from VW/Škoda but Maruti Suzuki fall well short again on safety performance for some of the most popular cars sold in India. With Bharat NCAP set to launch soon, we challenge Maruti Suzuki to catch up with the other leading domestic manufacturers as well as Volkswagen/Skoda and demonstrate their commitment to road safety and customer protection.”
Saul Billingsley, Executive Director, FIA Foundation said “As many car makers, including Volkswagen/Skoda, are embracing the safety agenda and designing for five stars, the continued failure of Maruti Suzuki is inexcusable and unacceptable. Culture at the company must change to place the safety of its customers first.”
Kelly Larson, who leads Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Initiative for Global Road Safety said, “We will not reach the UN Decade of Action goal of reducing road traffic fatalities and serious injuries by 50 percent unless we achieve improvements in all areas of road safety, including vehicle safety. It’s encouraging to see manufacturers like Volkswagen and Skoda demonstrate their commitment to safety, but more manufacturers need to follow suit.”
The vehicles were tested under the #SaferCarsForIndia campaign that was launched by Global NCAP in 2014 with the support of the FIA Foundation and Bloomberg Philanthropies, with the objective of promoting safer vehicles in the country. Between 2014 and 2022 Global NCAP has completed more than sixty safety assessments.
