Tata Motors’ safety drive: A closer look at company’s Integrated Safety Centre

In a significant shift, safety is now the driving force in the Indian automotive industry, with a clear focus on enhancing features developed to keep occupants, fellow motorists and pedestrians from harm.

In recent years, Indian auto OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) have been making constant efforts to enhance safety across their vehicle lineup.

Tata Motors has taken several key steps in this direction, with all six of its internal combustion engine (ICE) cars boasting safety ratings of four stars or higher. But how does the company ensure safer vehicles? The answer may lie in the Integrated Safety Centre within its Pune manufacturing facility.

The facility commenced operations on August 1, 1997, shortly before Tata’s first car, the Indica, was launched in 1998. Tata believes that ensuring car safety requires a multifaceted approach, including thoughtful design, advanced technologies, and user awareness.

The Integrated Safety Centre has enabled Tata to enhance its vehicles’ structural design, reinforcing structures and crumple zones from the base to improve crashworthiness. To meet these safety standards, vehicles undergo testing, including the use of Biofidelic dummies and extensive component testing. Contrary to popular belief that crash tests are conducted with full vehicles, Tata emphasises that safety starts at the design stage, ensuring safer vehicles at optimized costs.

During a recent visit to the facility Sven Patuschka, CTO, Tata Motors told HT Auto that the ensuring safer cars starts right from the point of designing it. This helps in having safer vehicles at optimised cost.