Suzuki offers 6 out of the top 11 safest cars for under R270 000. In a country that records over 12 000 road fatalities per year, vehicle safety is a major concern for buyers. Affordable cars should not skimp on safety features and Suzuki is paying attention to the needs of its customers.
Suzuki is an indirect customer of Formex Industries. The automotive components that we produce are installed on many Suzuki vehicles that are sold in South Africa. The focus on safety in entry-level cars is critical to sales, which is why Suzuki also performs well in this category every month.
AA report on safety in entry-level cars
The Automobile Association (AA) has published its latest Entry-Level Vehicle Safety Report (ELVS), which looked at 38 affordable cars in South Africa. The report compared the standard safety features of cars under R270 000. These include active features, such as anti-lock braking systems (ABS) and electronic stability control (ESC), as well as passive safety features, such as airbags.
It must be noted that this does not include the structural integrity and impact resistance of these cars, simply the safety features available. Crash testing is used to determine the impact resistance and overall safety rating of a car, and is not a consideration for this report.
“The purpose of the research is to provide consumers with a starting point for vehicle purchases, be they new or second-hand. We point out what safety features are stated as being available on these vehicles and urge consumers to consider these a priority as part of their decision-making process,” says the AA in its report.
A scoring system placed the vehicles into one of three categories; poor safety, moderate safety and acceptable safety. Of the 11 cars in the acceptable safety category, Suzuki offers six. These include the following:
- Suzuki Baleno 1.4 manual
- Suzuki Celerio 1.0 GA MT
- Suzuki Dzire 1.2 manual
- Suzuki Ignis 1.2 manual
- Suzuki S-Presso 1.0 manual
- Suzuki Swift 1.2 manual
Manufacturers improving the safety of entry-level cars
There are only four vehicles in this category that have poor safety scores. A further 23 entry-level cars are accredited with moderate safety by the AA. “The fact that so many vehicles offer moderate to acceptable safety is extremely encouraging and indicated that manufacturers are taking the presence of critical vehicle safety equipment seriously,” says the AA.
“The inclusion of these safety features protects motorists, it’s as simple as that. The inclusion of ESC, for instance, must be considered more seriously by manufacturers as this is proven technology which can reduce road crashes. We reiterate our call that this technology comes as standard for entry-level vehicles available in South Africa,” explains the AA.
Suzuki has placed a heavy focus on the standard safety features of their entry-level cars. Formex is proud to be a strategic supplier of components to vehicle manufacturers that strive to make improvements to passenger safety. For more information about our components and products, please contact us today.
Formex Industries is a metal forming and assembly company that supplies a variety of complex products to the local automotive industry and the export market. The company is based in the Nelson Mandela Bay metropole, South Africa’s foremost region for automotive manufacturing and export.
Formex is a Level 2 B-BBEE supplier. The company is owned by Deneb Investments Limited – a subsidiary of Hosken Consolidated Investments Limited (HCI) – one of South Africa’s biggest true B-BBEE companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE).
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