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Improving vehicular safety is becoming increasingly important especially in the light of rising road accidents. While the government is moving towards making features such as airbags and anti-lock braking systems mandatory in all four-wheelers, companies like Toyota Kirloskar have already taken the plunge. N Raja, director & senior vice-president, sales and marketing, Toyota Kirloskar Motors shares his views on the subject with Swaraj Baggonkar.
What prompted Toyota to offer airbags as standard in all its cars?
At Toyota, we give high importance to safety. A large number of people die due to road accidents every year in India. With better safety features like the airbags in all our cars, we want to contribute towards improved and safe driving conditions on the Indian roads, ensuring the safety of our customers and their families.
As the Indian government is working towards improvement of infrastructure (roads), as a responsible manufacturer we would like to support it by further enhancing the safety standards of our vehicles. So we decided to make air bags a standard feature in all our vehicles.
Was this practice brought in effect from January, 2015 or was it completed in earlier months?
In October 2014, we standardised front dual SRS airbags for Etios, Etios Liva and Etios Cross, across all grades.
Besides standardisation what other steps has Toyota taken to improve safety?
Along with the standardisation of front dual SRS airbags, we have also started a safety campaign to further this cause. The 'We are safety leaders' campaign spreads awareness on standardisation of airbags in all Toyota vehicles, spreads awareness on the importance of seat belts and other similar aspects. THUMS [Toyota Human Model for Safety] is the mascot for the campaign. Toyota's THUMS Technology is also used by research institutes and car companies across the automotive industry in Southeast Asia to improve safety.
What is the impact on prices because of the additional input?
We have attached some cost to the additional spec.
Do you see any impact on sales because of the price hike?
Price rise is a natural phenomena especially at the beginning of the year. We are providing more value for money by offering spec enhancements along with the price increase. Like all features the airbags also come at a cost. But there is a growing level of awareness on safety among customers and they understand and appreciate the introduction of front dual SRS airbags.
