Maruti launches its first driving school in Kerala

Kochi, Mar 27 (UNI) Automobile major Maruti Suzuki today launched a ''world-class'' driving school here, the first in the series of at least 15 such schools to be opened in the next three months.

Another Maruti Driving School (MDS) was launched in Thiruvananthapuram today.

Addressing a press conference before the formal inauguration of the school, Maruti Suzuki Director, Marketing and Sales, K Saito said the driving School' was a part of the corporate social responsibility initiatives of the company, to establish a relationship with the customers which went beyond just manufacturing and selling cars.

Describing the fatalties on the Indian roads as ''alarming'', Mr Saito said that Japan, with 75 million automobiles on the roads, had 8,400 deaths deu to road accidents whereas India, with ten million vehicles, had 87,000 deaths last year.

''While requesting the Government to set up a National Road Safety Board, we believe that Maruti, as the market leader, also has a role. Hence, this initiative of setting up Maruti Driving Schools across the country,'' he added.

Mr R K Parimoo, Deputy General Manager, MDS, said that the public response to three pilot driving schools set up by Maruti in Chandigarh, Kollam and Bangalore last year had been very positive.

This had prompted the company to go ahead with the scheme in a full-fledged manner.

The company will open 15 more schools in the next three months in Delhi, Gurgaon, Hyderabad, Chennai, Coimbatore, Bhubaneshwar, Jammu Bhopal and some other cities, he added.

The duration of the course will be nearly four weeks and the fee would be Rs 3,500 for the basic learners course.

Theoretical classes, training on a ''world-class simulator'' and practical training would be the main components of the course. There would be trained lady instructors also at each driving school, he added.

Mr Parimoo said more than 300,000 drivers of heavy commercial vehicles had been trained at the Delhi-based Institute of Driving Training and Research (IDTR), managed by Maruti, during the past five years. The union surface transport ministry and the Delhi government were so happy with the project that they had given land to start a second IDTR in Delhi.

However, asked if there were plans to open IDTRs in other states, Mr Saito replied in the negative.

He also said there were no plans for an increase in the Suzuki stake in the company.

The Overall, Maruti Suzuki enjoyed a 56 per cent share in the passenger car market but in Kerala, its share was 69 per cent, he said.

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