Responding to the Global NCAP report that the Maruti Swift failed a frontal crash test, Maruti Suzuki India Limited's VP Marketing Manohar Bhat pooh-poohed the results, "All our cars meet the highest safety standards set by the Indian government and regulatory bodies in the country. Now, if they are subjected to a foreign safety assessment with a higher standard than they are made for, they may not pass it," he said, while launching the Alto K10 in the city, on Tuesday.
Bhat attempted to allay fears of consumers by explaining that the test conditions and standards were different for cars that are produced and driven within the country, and this crash test had no impact on them. Car safety watchdog NCAP has crossed swords with Maruti for the second time this year - first by calling the Alto 800 an unsafe vehicle in January and now, by casting aspersions on the Swift's safety quotient.
"There is a lot of stress on safety within the country and we are doing everything possible to adhere to that. A lot of these international tests do not take into account that Indian road conditions are not the same as roads anywhere else.
The speeds that can be achieved by the vehicle given our roads makes it completely different, so applying a foreign standard may not be practical," he added. Despite a year that auto manufacturers have deemed "turbulent" at best, MSIL has consolidated their market share of 45% (excluding the SUV segment) by furthering it by an additional 4% in 2014.
Between new releases like the Celerio and the Ciaz, MSIL has managed to maintain their market cap by bulk selling mainstays like the Alto, Swift and WagonR to the Indian public.