If there’s one thing that Hyundai and Kia vehicles are constantly being chastised for, it’s the lack of safety equipment. Compared to similarly-priced makes from Japanese and American brands, the Koreans have always lagged behind be it in the number of airbags or the equipment of anti-lock brakes or stability control. While the blame is typically pinned on Hyundai and Kia’s Philippine distributor, that shouldn’t be the case.
It’s been revealed that Hyundai and Kia have simply “been following the required safety standards in the countries or regions where they market and sell their cars in.” And so, if the market doesn’t require even just one airbag, Hyundai and Kia won’t offer them; or if they do, they’ll charge their distributors to put them in and as a result, potentially make their prices prohibitive to buyers.
But all that is about to change.
Dr. Sihun Lee, Director of Safety Technology Strategy Group of the Hyundai Motor Group said that the era of “zero star” ratings in New Car Assessment Program or NCAP tests is over. Now, the company, through its Hyundai and Kia brands, is committed to follow the Global NCAP Roadmap for Safer Cars 2020.
The Global NCAP Roadmap for Safer Cars 2020 aims to democratize car safety and makes the following vehicle safety guidelines as standard on all vehicles imported or produced by the 2020 model year to eliminate all “zero star cars”:
- Frontal Impact Crash Test (including safety cell, airbags)
- Side Impact Crash Test (including safety cell, airbags)
- Seatbelts & Anchorages (including ISOFIX child seat anchors)
- Anti-Lock Brakes
- Electronic Stability Control
- Pedestrian Protection
- Autonomous Emergency Braking (highly recommended)
Ummm.. So next years eon model should be priced around 800k,elantra 1.3m,Santa Fe 2.8m.
ReplyDeleteTheir products might be cheap, and yes the Sta Fe/Sorento and Sportage/Tucson run on diesel, but their features here in the Philippines are severely lacking. Take the Sorento's TOTL, for example (and yes, KIA is also owned by Hyundai) in the Philippines:
ReplyDelete1. No power seats
2. Halogen headlights
3. No touchscreen
4. No navigation
5. No backup camera
6. Only 2 airbags
7. And more!
And yet it's priced at 2.3 million! At least the CX-9's base model, even if it's a gas-powered SUV, do not skimp on those. This is sad, because I find the interior of Kia to be European-ish, and their Sorentos/Sta. Fe are of premium quality. Other countries don't skimp on their safety equipment, so how come Phlippines does?
Simple: our government doesn’t require it. In other words, they separated their safety equipment rather than bundling it together as other makers do. And since our safety standards aren’t really strict, they opt to sell that. If our standards became stricter, expect Hyundai and Kia to start offering more standard safety equipment.
DeleteThe "blame the government" argument is lame Uly.
DeleteHyundai is one of the few manufacturers who lack safety aids. If it was the other way around in which most manufacturers skimp on safety, your "blame the government" argument will hold water.
Plus, seriously, does everything have to be required? The government does not require you to be educated... Will you then save money and skip education?
Think for yourself rather than let the government think for you.
It may be lame but for safety technology to be democratized, the government should take the lead and make requirement stricter.
DeleteI mean, just look at India which is a hotbed for zero star rated cars in the NCAP.
Yes, the government doesn't require you to be educated, so it should at least mandate safety standards to keep you alive lest your uneducated choice lands you in an accident.
DeleteIt is all about the government, this road safety. The car makers couldn't care less, really, as long as they're making money and they're not breaking the law (at least some are). We're screwed if we leave something this vital up to them.
And it's in the government's best interest to give a sh*t and be on top of this - after all, our taxes pay for the uneducated 's medical expenses, if said accident stemming from uneducated choice were to transpire. Our taxes pay for investigators, judges, the public cemetery to bury that uneducated unfortunate. Silly way to spend our tax money, knowing something (like a safety standard that prevents bad, unsafe cars from being sold) could have reined in that uneducated decision, yes?
Uly's respose of every typical car journalist on someone's payroll: apologetic and factually false.
DeleteIf there is a need for govt regulations, then why can Toyota provide full set of airbags and ABS for a sub 1m car?
Checkmate big government apologists.
In case you missed it...Toyota's President Akio Toyoda also made a promise to make their vehicles class-leading in terms of safety features. This happened when he took over some years back...it's only now that it's happening. Hyundai is admittedly very late to the ballgame, but they're promising to catch up. But again, this has nothing to do with our regulations...which are too relaxed. There's nothing against the law selling a vehicle without airbags or even selling vehicles with a speedometer with MPH indicated.
Delete"it's only now that it's happening."
DeleteNot really. Toyota's always played the safety game fairly but quietly even back then. They never bothered to make a big fuss out of it like what Subaru is doing right now (Japanese Volvo? lmao... gtfo!).
Please!!!!!!!!!!! Equip your vehicles with standard safety features!!!!
ReplyDeleteAnong bisa naman nang extra safety features. Tayong mga pinoy kahit seatbelt lang ayaw gamitin.
DeleteSad but true. Only foreigners and balikbayans buckle up here
DeleteThe best way to protest against this kind of company philosophy is to boycott from buying until they're left with no choice but to improve their products, end of story.
ReplyDeleteThe Hyundai Accent would have been nice car for our company but we shied away because the base model had no air bags. The sales man made us laugh because he says that it comes in with seatbelts anyways. I think our country should put some sort of vehicle safety regulation or at least improve it if there is.
ReplyDeleteI'm all for that as long as they don't increase prices. If they raise prices just to serve the 1% of the population who put safety on top of their priorities, sales will suffer
ReplyDeleteYup, 99% of car buyers are baboons who does not give a flying f*** about safety... AT ALL.
DeleteBahala na delikado basta mura! Ang galing nating mga pinoy!!!
I think that has become a reality. Kona suv has 6 airbags and 2.0 engine at only 1.1m
ReplyDelete