The first 2023 round of results under Global NCAP’s more demanding crash test requirements for India has been published with the VW Virtus / Skoda Slavia achieving five stars in both adult and child occupant protection.

Another strong performance from VW/Skoda but Maruti Suzuki fell short again on safety performance for some of the most popular cars sold in India. The Maruti Suzuki WagonR scored one star in adult occupant protection and zero for child occupant protection. The Maruti Suzuki Alto K10 scored two stars for adult occupant protection and zero for child occupant protection.

While the Maruti Suzuki Alto K10 showed a stable structure and marginal to good protection for the 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 a rear-facing CRS in the front seating position explains the zero score for child protection in both 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.” said, Alejandro Furas, Secretary General of Global NCAP.

 “With Bharat NCAP set to launch soon, we challenge Maruti Suzuki to catch up with the other leading domestic manufacturers as well as VW/Skoda and demonstrate their commitment to road safety and customer protection.”, David Ward, President of the Towards Zero Foundation, added

Global NCAP’s updated crash test protocols include assessments of frontal and side impact protection for all tested models as well as Electronic Stability Control (ESC) and pedestrian protection. Side impact pole protection assessments are also required for vehicles scoring the highest star ratings.

Global NCAP