From the latest batch of electric cars tested, only the MG ZS EV achieves the maximum 5 star Euro NCAP safety rating.
MG ZS EV (★★★★★)
Aiways U5 (★★★)
VW electric triplets (★★★)
The disappointing 3-star Euro NCAP safety rating for the VW electric triplets can be explained by the removal of AEB (Autonomous Emergency Braking).
Matthew Avery, director of research at Thatcham, commented:
“the withdrawal of its City AEB system is a major shortcoming, not least because consumers will be considering it as an affordable electric city-car option. The lack of an AEB system to avoid or mitigate collisions in a city-driving environment is therefore a significant omission.”
A spokesperson from Volkswagen commented the following about the Euro NCAP downgrade:
“The up! was reassessed this year and achieved three stars, as we hoped it would. Excellent passenger protection and Lane Assist installed as standard – as well as curtain and side airbags – make it one of the safest vehicles in its class. Due to the fact that the test conditions have become significantly tougher in recent years, three stars can be considered a very good rating.”
I agree with Euro NCAP that AEB is more important than Lane Assist for preventing car accidents, unfortunately Volkswagen thinks otherwise.
More info:
https://www.euroncap.com/en/results/mg/zs-ev/39678
https://www.euroncap.com/en/results/skoda/citigo/39973
https://www.euroncap.com/en/results/aiways/u5/39672
https://www.euroncap.com/en/ratings-rewards/hybrid-electric-vehicles
I don’t know why MG has Safety assist rating 70% and Aiways only 55%. From posted videos it seems like it should be other way around…
I don’t know either vehicles, but sometimes in some chinese brands (eletronics and others), some mentioned fuctions don’t exactly work as they mention…
My reply may look like a pre-assumption but believe European Institutes test every function thoroughly.
3 stars on a 2019 SUV is not good as a start for Aiways…
For the triplets… I agree with NCAP that automatic break assistance is a must-have on a 2019 sold car
yeahp… as mentioned some of the functions of the car did not work as expected. Full review of the test available at:
https://cdn.euroncap.com/media/57716/euroncap-2019-aiways-u5-datasheet.pdf
The speed assistance system only got 0,3 points (out of 3).
–
“The speed assistance system uses a camera to identify local speed limits. This information is presented to the driver who can then set the speed limiter as appropriate. However, system did not work robustly: many signs were not recognised and the information presented to the driver was inadequate.”
–
https://www.euroncap.com/en/results/aiways/u5/39672
Any idea why they remove AEB but kept lane assist? Does that really save anything? Or are they saving a radar?
Modern AEB systems use a combination of different sensors (LiDAR, RADAR and Camera). The outgoing model of the VW e-up only had a camera, which wasn’t very reliable. My guess is that VW didn’t trust that old AEB system and decided to remove it instead of upgrading it to cut some costs.
–
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7_Bk70eSfo
Thanks, that sounds plausible. The e-Up got 5 stars in 2011, the safety requirements are improving fast!