Hyundai: Hyundai’s big safety push: All cars to get 6 airbags, Verna scores 5-star in GNCAP

At the recent Times Internet Tech Summit 2023, Tarun Garg, Chief Operating Officer, Hyundai India, had said that 30 years ago, a car buyer’s priority was price, design, safety and technology. However in 2023, it has completely flipped on its head and that new customers are looking at technology and safety as the top priority, when making a car buying decision. He further said that among buyers of the recently launched Exter SUV, the standard 6 airbags feature was the most appreciated and Hyundai India seems to have taken notice of what people want. On October 3, the automaker announced that all Hyundai India cars will now have 6 airbags as standard across all the variants in a big push towards road safety and customer satisfaction. The move brings the more affordable models such as the Grand i10 NIOS and the Xcent into the 6 airbag fold now.

Overall, under Hyundai India’s #Safetyforall initiative, all 13 car models in the automaker’s lineup will now get 6 airbags, 3-point seatbelt and seatbelt reminder as standard safety features across variants. 10 Hyundai cars will additionally come with Hill-start assist control (HAC) and Electronic Stability Control (ESC) as standard. Moreover, seven cars will now get Tyre Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) as standard fitment.

Garg had also mentioned earlier that India is a young country with a median age of 28 and that the customers are tech savvy and want all safety features and tech. This shows the demand for ADAS safety functions in recently launched models from Hyundai India. While ADAS was first brought in with the all-new Tucson SUV, which is a global product and among Hyundai India’s flagships, it was later introduced in the 2023 Verna sedan as well. Garg says that currently, 45 percent of Verna customers want the ADAS safety functions and are willing to pay for it. This is also reflected in the demand for top-end variants of Hyundai cars in recent years. Where top-end variants used to contribute to just 5 percent demand earlier, Garg says that demand for the fully loaded cars averages at about 22 percent across its entire lineup in 2023.

More safety related good news broke for Hyundai India on October 3, as the all-new Verna sedan scored a 5-star rating in the Global NCAP crash tests for both adult and child occupants. The Verna was assessed for front and side impact protection and also for its Electronic Stability Control (ESC), pedestrian protection and for passive safety functions such as the 6 airbags which come as standard in the sedan.