Maruti Suzuki Confirms ADAS Specifically Developed For Indian Conditions
Most of the mainstream automaker such as Hyundai, Kia and Honda are offering cars with ADAS close to the Rs. 20 lakh mark. Earlier, it was confirmed that Skoda and Volkswagen will also introduce ADAS with the facelift of their cars. Now, Maruti has also confirmed that they will be developing ADAS technology for their cars keeping in mind the Indian road conditions.
We can expect Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) features to be introduced with the first pure EV by Maruti which is the eVX. The expected launch date of the eVX is sometime in 2025. Furthermore, the high end vehicles by the brand such as the Grand Vitara and its 7 seater counterpart will also get the ADAS technology. The brand has specially highlighted that they will be developing this technology keeping the chaotic Indian traffic conditions in mind.
Commenting on the delay in introducing this technology, the brand said that, “the unique traffic conditions and congestion make it difficult to simply apply Japanese solutions. Leveraging Suzuki’s 40 years of experience in India, we plan to develop and offer ADAS that performs well even in the congested streets of Indian cities.”
In our opinion, this is a fair point and this may make Maruti’s ADAS technologies much better than the competition. It is observed that most of the drivers in India prefer to turn off ADAS in traffic conditions. This is because the Indian traffic conditions are quite different from that seen in international countries and ADAS is found useless here in most of the cases except highway driving.
The Indian roads include two wheelers (scooters, cycles, and bikes), animals, pedestrians, three wheelers, four wheelers such as cars, tractors, construction vehicles and multiple random objects. Additionally, ADAS relies on radar and a camera which may get dirty really often due to the dusty environment.
Some of the ADAS features such as lane keep assist requires properly marked roads which is absent in a lot of places. Lack of lane discipline in the country is another major issue ADAS will encounter. Having an India focused ADAS technology can give Maruti a competitive edge over other carmakers as ADAS has become a hot selling feature.
The Maruti Suzuki eVX
The Maruti Suzuki eVX will be the first fully electric car by the brand. We can expect the car to be launched sometime in 2025. After the launch of the eVX, Toyota will also launch their badge engineered version of the SUV.
As per the reports, the eVX may get two battery options. This includes a bigger 60 kWh battery pack with a dual motor setup (AWD) and a smaller 45 kWh battery pack with a single motor. The bigger motor is expected to deliver a driving range of up to 550 km on a single charge.
The expected launch price of the eVX is around Rs. 25 lakh. At this price point, the eVX will compete with the upcoming Creta EV, MG ZS EV, BYD Atto 3 and other players.