Autocar Professional, May 15 magazine

The annual ‘Automotive Safety Special’ issue is out. The cover story is all about how Indian roads can become safer, how road accidents and fatalities can be prevented, and how increased dissemination of safety-related information and consumer awareness can lead to increased buying of safer vehicles.    

At Autocar Professional’s global webinar on ‘Embarking On A Safer Journey’, top industry experts discussed and debated strategies, all aimed at a safer India. Find out what Deepak Sawkar, senior VP (Technical Administration), Maruti Suzuki India; A V Mannikar, senior deputy director, Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI); Ramashankar Pandey, MD, Hella India Lighting; Jaidev Venkataraman, head - Engineering, Vehicle Dynamics, Continental Automotive Components India; and Alejandro Furas, technical director, Global NCAP had to say.

Distracted driving today has joined alcohol and speeding as a leading factor in fatal and serious injury crashes. We reveal the findings of an India-specific study, conducted across Delhi, Chennai, Jaipur, Bangalore, Mangalore, Kanpur, Mumbai and Kolkata, which reveals a very high level of cellphone use and dangerous behavioural patterns behind while driving.

Helmets are critical to the safety of two-wheeler riders. However, most riders in India take recourse to cheap and unsafe helmets, available in plenty. Now the government is working on new standards aimed at manufacturing lighter, stronger helmets which suit Indian conditions. We reveal what’s in the new product pipeline.

The past month has seen new products being launched on two-, four- and more wheels. While Daimler India Commercial Vehicles, which is bullish on the inter-city bus business, has introduced a new 16-tonne, 238hp BharatBenz coach, Isuzu Motors India rolled out its all-new MU-X, hoping to ride on the SUV sales boom in India. We also reveal Hero MotoCorp’s plans to earmark a Rs 2,500 crore investment in new models, capacity expansion, modernization and digitisation.

A tractor manufacturer like Sonalika ITL is also upbeat on its growth prospects. We visit the company’s Hoshiarpur plant, the largest tractor manufacturing facility in the world.

On the sales analysis front, we bring you the full highlights – facts and stats – about the vehicle numbers in April 2017. How sales of cars, UVs and scooters saved the blushes for the overall sector even as the M&HCV sector slid to a new low.

There’s plenty of industry news in this issue. Even as the government has decided to plug into the electric vehicle business a lot more seriously, Coimbatore-based Ampere has developed an EV charger. There’s lots more but that would be letting the cat out of the bag. . .

Where to buy?

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