Maruti Suzuki new Dzire bags 5-star rating in Global NCAP test

Maruti Suzuki’s soon-to-be-launched Dzire has scored a five star result for adult and four stars for child occupant safety in Global NCAP voluntary test rating.

The new Dzire is the first Maruti Suzuki car to achieve a five star Global NCAP rating. The Dzire comes fitted with six airbags, electronic stability control (ESC) and pedestrian protection as standard.

Global NCAP’s crash test protocols assess frontal and side impact protection for all models, as well as electronic stability control (ESC). Pedestrian protection and side pole impact protection assessments are required for vehicles scoring the highest star ratings.

“The new Dzire’s five star rating sets a significant safety benchmark for Maruti Suzuki compared to the previous version of this model and others from Maruti we have tested. Global NCAP warmly welcomes this milestone voluntary test result,” says David Ward, executive president of the Towards Zero Foundation.

“We are optimistic that going forward Maruti will seek to achieve this high level of safety performance across their model range. If they do, it will be a vehicle safety game changer for Indian consumers,” says Ward.

The new Dzire was submitted by Maruti Suzuki to Global NCAP for voluntary testing. “The structure and footwell area were rated as stable and can withstand further loadings. The car offers three point belts in all seating positions. i-Size anchorages are included as standard. The chest of the driver dummy in the frontal test showed marginal protection. The pole test showed full head protection and the side impact test showed full protection for the adult occupants,” Global NCAP says in a statement.

India’s largest carmaker doesn’t plan to sell the new Dzire to fleet operators, the segment that accounted for 30-35% of the total sales of the entry sedan. Maruti Suzuki Tour S, the fleet variant of the outgoing Dzire, will continue to be available for taxi operators.

Maruti sold 1.6 lakh Dzire sedans last fiscal. The company has sold close to 75,000 units in the first six months. The sedan segment is 8% of the total PV market.

Every third car that Maruti Suzuki sold in FY25 was powered by compressed natural gas. Maruti Suzuki expects sales of CNG cars to edge up as companies set up more gas stations and value conscious buyers are attracted by lower total cost of ownership of CNG-powered cars.