40 Years Of Maruti Suzuki: A Visit To The Brand's R&D Centre In Haryana

For over 40 years, the country’s largest carmaker, Maruti Suzuki, has been catering to the ever-evolving needs of the Indian car buyer. Be it changes in Government policies, emission norms or embracing newer technologies, the Indo-Japanese brand has always been able to change its strategies and at most times leading the charge. Over the last decade, the brand's efforts have been towards ensuring faster development of vehicles and being less reliant on Suzuki Japan for efficient testing procedures and overall development of new vehicles. Hence, the state-of-the-art Research and Development centre in Haryana’s Rohtak is the centre of all the action. Team carandbike visited the facility recently to witness first-hand how the vehicles are designed, developed and evaluated, all under one roof.

Also Read: 2022 Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara: First Impressions

The Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) chamber is used to check unwanted electromagnetic disturbances emitted by the vehicle.

This Maruti Suzuki R&D in Rohtak was commissioned back in 2014 and the company has invested almost Rs. 4,000 crore to create testing mechanisms that are safe and stringent at the same time. In all, there are over 250 labs here for various tests, and each vehicle undergoes a huge number of evaluations during design and development which takes anything between 3 and 4 years. According to CV Raman, Chief Technology Officer, Maruti Suzuki, “The vehicles are designed according to future and global automobile trends while also keeping in mind the possible regulatory changes that might happen in the near future”.

Maruti’s R&D centre in Rohtak, Haryana is spread over 600 acres.

The facility is spread over a total area of 600 acres which includes a test track of 400 acres. Being largely a mass market brand, affordability is the key to what Maruti Suzuki does at its R&D centre; developing Auto Gearshift Technology which offers convenience with a small premium on price being one such example. Another aspect is safety with more products now being made by using high tensile and ultra-high tensile steel extensively. These include Suzuki’s TECT Global C-platform on which SUVs like the Grand Vitara and Brezza are based. Remember it is this platform that gave the Vitara Brezza its 4-star Global NCAP safety rating. Then there’s the 5^th generation of the popular HEARTECT platform on which smaller cars and MPVs are built.

Powertrain and Drivetrain Testing

The facility has a big powertrain test centre with as many as 30 test beds. Here, everything from engine performance to NVH and reliability testing is done. Low rpm and high torque machines are used for reliability testing whereas drivetrains are tested on benches under extreme temperature conditions to evaluate their durability, efficiency and other parameters. Then there’s the emission efficiency test where non-regulated pollutants are also measured. The aim is that for 1.60 lakh kms emission durability should be available for the consumer. Maruti Suzuki has been working on various types of drivetrains, and the facility can test each one of these. These include MT, AGS, AT, CVT, Hybrid & EV. These are under different vehicle configurations like Front wheel drive, Rear wheel drive, 2WD and 4WD. Tests are conducted to also ensure optimum performance and fuel efficiency of the vehicles. Then there’s gear noise, Clutch as well as torsion testing.

Vehicle Semi-Anechoic Chamber

Welcome to one of quietest rooms in India. One of the key areas of testing a vehicle in this facility is the usage of chassis Dynamometers for the NVH refinement of vehicles. In a vehicle semi-anechoic chamber, design optimization of various sub-systems like powertrain, intake, exhaust is carried out for achieving desired NVH in a vehicle. The dynamometers in these temperature-controlled chambers can attain speeds up to 250 kmph. Exact accuracy in a controlled environment enables measurement of vehicle NVH data eliminating ambient weather conditions. Another semi-anechoic chamber at the facility is the Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) testing lab where tests are carried out to check unwanted electromagnetic disturbances emitted by the vehicle. This ensures that no malfunctions occur in the vehicle due to external electromagnetic environment.

NVH refinement tests are carried out in the dedicated Vehicle Semi-Anechoic chamber.

Tyre Coupled Road Load Simulator

You can’t take the car on the test track, well the track comes inside the lab. Here a Uni-axial loading actuator system applies vertical forces up under the 4 wheels of a vehicle and a high-end simulation software reproduces the loads experienced by a vehicle on rough road. This continuously reduces the test time and all the vehicles made by the company can be tested on same machine by changing the mounting points. This is around 30% faster than the actual test on the track, and the aim is indeed that – to get to know of any problem earlier.

Crash Testing

The Big one!! Yes, we were witness to a live crash test during our visit. Full vehicles (in our case the new Brezza), equipped with advanced dummies and myriad sensors, are used to evaluate the protection offered by the vehicle structure, safety components and its interior parts. Tests include Frontal Impact, Side Impact, Pedestrian Impact, Airbag Sensor Calibration, Low Speed Impact & Rear Impact. Maruti says while Bharat NCAP mandates tests to be done at 56 kmph, tests here are carried out at 64 kmph, in line with Global NCAP standards. After the 4-stars Vitara Brezza scored at GNCAP tests, we can’t wait to see how the new-gen fares.

Maruti Suzuki also carries out crash tests in its R&D centre.

Road tests

The actual test track at the facility has a total of 33 different tracks to test various capabilities of newly developed vehicles. This includes a multi-friction track with varying road conditions that is specifically used for brake system performance testing. Apart from this endurance, NVH, braking, Ride & Handling and high-speed testing is also done and here is where we got to sample the new Grand Vitara for a brief while. The idea is that test results should be the same whether they are conducted in Japan or in Rohtak.

The test track at the facility has a total of 33 different tracks to test various capabilities of newly developed vehicles.

There’s lots happening at Maruti Suzuki. While in the mid-term the brand is targeting greener fuels like CNG, work has also begun on flex fuel engines. In the long term the company is looking at more hybrids and electric vehicles. The brand says it is also ready to adopt future tech like ADAS and Advanced human machine interface. The next decade looks promising for sure.