The Hindu : New Delhi News : Bad news for car thieves

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, May 18, 2007
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New Delhi

New Delhi

Bad news for car thieves

Sandeep Joshi

New Maruti cars to have `immobilisers'

NEW DELHI: Delhi's notorious car thieves have some bad news from India's largest car manufacturer -- Maruti Udyog Limited. The auto major has started fitting all its new cars with a state-of-the-art anti-theft device called "immobiliser" -- a tamper-proof electronic system that works on digitally encrypted codes.

The new system, which is a mandatory feature in many European cars, will make it impossible for auto-lifters here to simply open a Maruti car with a duplicate key and vanish.

Every year, almost 9,000 auto-thefts are reported in Delhi, nearly 75 per cent of which are cars. Among them Maruti car owners, particularly those having Maruti-800, are the worst affected.

But now those buying new Maruti cars can get relieved of all their tensions, thanks to the immobiliser, technically called iCATs (Intelligent Computerized Anti-Theft System). Cars equipped with iCATs have a secret code on the car key fob. This code is matched with the corresponding code on the electronic control unit (ECU) of the car. Only after the two codes match does the ECU permit the engine to start. Which means that no other key or any other method would let the car start.

"We have been concerned at the increasing number of car thefts and the loss and inconvenience caused to our customers. The factory-fitted iCATs will provide the customer a foolproof device that prevents theft of their cars. With this initiative, we have equipped our cars with a feature found in advanced car markets like the European Union and Australia," said Maruti Udyog Limited's Managing Director and CEO Jagdish Khattar.

As per the National Crime Records Bureau, a vehicle is stolen in India every six minutes, while the industry estimate of the value of stolen vehicles amounts to a whopping Rs.1,000 crore per year, with passenger cars forming a major chunk of it. The data for the period 2003-05 reflect a 23 per cent increase in vehicle thefts.

But now people buying new Maruti cars are not necessarily required to get their cars fitted with gear locks or other anti-theft devices, as the new hi-tech system will guard it from the threat of auto thieves. However, the existing Maruti owners will still have to rely on the anti-theft devices they have been using as the immobiliser cannot be retrofitted in old cars.

Extra price

The new Maruti cars will come with a little extra price that the company will be charging for the immobiliser, ranging from Rs.1,000 to 4,300 for various models. But customers might not have to feel the pinch of the marginal increase in the prices of Maruti cars as some banks have decided to offer special interest rates for cars equipped with immobilisers. Moreover, insurance companies too are offering a rebate of Rs.500 on the insurance premium for cars equipped with iCATs.

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