Maruti To Boycott Global NCAP After Poor Safety Ratings of Baleno, Swift and WagonR

Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL) has recently announced its decision to not send any vehicles for Global NCAP testing. This decision follows after Mahindra XUV300 was awarded the title of ‘Safest Car in India’, while cars like the Baleno, Swift and WagonR have received a lot of flak for fairing poorly in the crash tests by the global agency. 

The decision to not participate in the GNCAP safety tests could be interpreted as Maruti’s reaction to David Ward, CEO and President of GNCAP. Recently, Ward has publicly urged Maruti to start manufacturing safer cars, as a majority of the cars by Indo-Japanese vehicles faired poorly in the crash safety tests, by scoring just 2- or 3-star ratings.

“As far as Maruti Suzuki is concerned, we believe that all safety regulations which are mandated by the government and the recently introduced offset side impact and pedestrian regulation we are meeting. Going forward, SIAM, as a body with the manufacturer, are working to bring out the BNCAP. Anything that is led or driven by the government and recognized by the government is something that we would be definitely looking at. Any other agency, it’s okay for the strategy of other manufacturers but Maruti Suzuki would like to work within the ambit of the Indian government regulations.”

- CV Raman, Senior Executive Director – Engineering, Maruti Suzuki India

Maruti’s decision to boycott safety tests comes as a stark contrast to other Indian car manufacturers like Tata and Mahindra, who are striving to achieve better safety scores with each upcoming vehicle. In fact, Tata Altroz, Tata Nexon, Mahindra Alturas, and Mahindra XUV300 are among the safest cars in India, scoring 5-stars in adult occupant safety.

Also Read: Global NCAP Secretary General Feels Positive About The Likeliness Of 5-star Safety Rated Indian Car

That isn’t to say that the entire line-up of India’s largest manufacturer is composed of unsafe cars. In fact, Maruti Vitara Brezza scored a 4-star rating in adult occupant safety, which is quite a good score. The biggest offenders, however, were Maruti Alto and Eeco, both of which scored a 0-star safety rating. These cars were deemed extremely unsafe. Next, we have the WagonR, Baleno and Swift, all of which managed to score a 2-star rating. The Ertiga fared slightly better with a 3-star rating, but was remarked to have “borderline unstable performance which can and should be improved”.

Other manufacturers also have a lot of ground to make in terms of safety. Renault has also been criticised for Kwid’s poor safety, and even older Mahindra cars like Scorpio and Bolero had neglected occupant safety for quite a long while.

Source: electricvehicleweb