After making six airbags standard across its line-up, Hyundai India is now gearing up to add active safety tech like ADAS and Bluelink to all its models by 2025.
- ADAS standard on one Hyundai India model currently
- Entire range to have ADAS available at least as an option
- Six airbags now standard across range
Hyundai’s strategy for introducing safety features in India
The new safety initiative announced by Hyundai on Tuesday is based on a 3-pillar strategy – ADAS; key safety features like ESC, VSM and Hill-start assist; and standardisation of vital safety features across all models and variants. The company claims that these features have been “extremely effective in preventing accidents.” Hyundai already offers ADAS in five models, and it expects 60 percent of its portfolio to have ADAS by 2024.
“Hyundai is the first mass OEM to offer ADAS in a sub-4m SUV – the Hyundai Venue – thereby making it India's most affordable SUV equipped with ADAS. This is clearly a big leap towards democratisation of advanced safety features. We aim for 100 percent coverage across the line-up,” said Tarun Garg, COO of Hyundai Motor India.
He also claimed that Hyundai is the first mass manufacturer to introduce Bluelink connected car tech in 2019, offering advanced safety features like stolen vehicle tracking and immobilisation, geo-fencing, SOS and emergency assistance, to name a few. At present, 80 percent of Hyundai India’s product range gets Bluelink as an option and it aims to offer it in 100 percent of vehicles in the foreseeable future. Currently, all Hyundai models except the Grand i10 Nios, the Aura and the Kona EV come with this feature.
Garg reminded that India has the second largest road network in the world, and over the last eight years, the length of national highways has increased to 1.45 lakh km. At the same time, the number of vehicles on the road have surged by a staggering 62 percent, with the top speed in a few expressways now at par with global standards. Hence, it is only natural that upgrading safety features of vehicles should go hand-in-hand.
More safety features as standard
As part of its initiative to expand the advanced safety features, the company will expand the application of new safety technologies like surround view monitor, blind spot detection, electronic parking brake and front parking sensors across more models.
Safety features like Tyre Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) and rear camera are accessible across all models, thereby providing timely warnings and enhanced driving safety. For superior child protection, ISOFIX child seat anchorages too are available across Hyundai models as an option, and three-point seat belts and seat belt reminder for all seats have also become a standard feature.
The Hyundai Verna, which scored a 5-star safety rating at Global NCAP recently, offers 6 airbags as standard along with the aforementioned features, which makes it among the safest sedan in the segment. On its part, Hyundai India has already submitted three of its models for BNCAP, and its results are expected to be revealed in a phased manner soon.
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