Maruti Suzuki is considering standardizing the Core Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) feature across its future model range, which could potentially make this function standard even in more budget-friendly vehicles.
This strategy is specifically developed for the Indian market, as Maruti Suzuki's main goal is to reduce the number of road traffic accidents. Katsuhiro Kato, Suzuki's technical director, noted that equipping only luxury cars with expensive ADAS systems is insufficient to decrease accident rates.
Kato emphasized that Suzuki's objective is to make safety features such as automatic emergency braking and lane departure prevention standard. Meanwhile, additional comfort and convenience features may be reserved for higher-end trims. The company calls this approach the 'right ADAS approach,' insisting that the system must be adapted to Indian road conditions and that the system's cost must be kept low.
To lower the price, Suzuki has prepared a corresponding plan, intending to use high-resolution cameras and artificial intelligence chips. Furthermore, the company will integrate driver and passenger monitoring with the ADAS system. The company's primary goal is to minimize costs while ensuring a high level of safety.
Currently, all these provisions are development targets, and the company has not yet released results from the production version of this product. The company states that it plans for safety on two fronts: firstly, preventing accidents through ADAS, and secondly, ensuring the protection of occupants in the event of a collision.
Maruti Suzuki's new ADAS technology planning is part of its larger SDV Right strategy. The company aims to simplify the electronic architecture of future vehicles. As part of this task, Suzuki plans to consolidate numerous functions related to power management, connectivity, and body control into a single central Electronic Control Unit (ECU).
In the company's view, this new configuration could be approximately 30% cheaper and 15% lighter compared to existing systems. This will help make the electronic systems in future vehicles more compact and simpler. However, Suzuki has not specified in which models this system will appear.
Regarding smaller Maruti Suzuki cars, such as the Alto and WagonR, the authors believe that ADAS functionality is unlikely to be included. It is probable that ADAS will start appearing in more compact models, such as the Maruti Suzuki Baleno and Fronx.
