The update for the Maruti Alto comes ahead of the June 2019 deadline which makes a certain set of safety feature mandatory for all cars on sale in India.
Maruti Suzuki has updated the Alto K10 with a set of new safety features. These include driver side airbag, rear-parking sensors, driver and passenger seat-belt warning and high-speed alert system as standard across the range.
The new safety regulations for passenger vehicles in India will become fully applicable in India by the month of October this year. Starting April, all cars are required to have an Anti-Lock braking system as standard. While from June, all cars must have driver side airbag, rear-parking sensors, driver and passenger seat belt warning, a high-speed alert system as standard.
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Starting October this year, in addition to the above mentioned safety features, cars have to meet regulations set for front-offset crash test, side-impact and full frontal impact along with padestrian protection norms.
The Alto K10’s smaller sibling, the Alto 800 has been discontinued from the Indian market. The reason for this being the fact that in its current iteration, it will not be able to meet these upcoming safety regulations.
Maruti Suzuki has already started working on a replacement for the Alto 800. Based on the Concept Future S, this new version of India’s largest selling passenger car will not get an SUV-inspired design.
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Testing for the same is in full swing and expect the same to launch in India within the first half of 2019 itself. In order to meet the upcoming safety regulations, this new iteration of the Alto is going to get Suzuki’s new HEARTECT platform. In addition to this, it is also going to get the required standard safety features as well.
On the inside, the new iteration of the Maruti Alto is going to get a modern layout. It is likely to get premium features such as a touchscreen infotainment system, steering mounted audio controls, power windows to name a few. Price for the new iteration of this entry-level hatchback are likely to go up.
