Latin NCAP Publishes First Safety Rankings Of Best And Worst Performing Car Manufacturers

Six manufacturers average four stars of more but GM’s Chevrolet is the worst performing

Following five years of crash testing, with more than 60 models tested, Latin NCAP has today (16th) published its first ranking of the comparative safety performance of car manufacturers in the Latin American market.

When Latin NCAP began in 2010 it was clear that the safety of many of the best selling cars lagged twenty years behind Europe and North America. Since then a growing number of manufacturers have engaged positively with Latin NCAP to improve occupant protection, with six manufacturers having now achieved a five star rating for some of their models.

The World Health Organisation’s recent Global Status Report on Road Safety recognised Latin NCAP’s role in catalysing safety improvements in the market but, regrettably, some manufacturers have still not responded as positively as they should. Some even continue to produce zero star cars, those cars with such a low level of occupant protection that they are likely to result in fatal injuries during a collision and fail the United Nation’s minimum crash test standards.

In order to provide consumers with further comparative data, Latin NCAP has calculated the average star rating awarded to each manufacturer. Based on Adult occupant protection results for all the models tested since 2010, Latin NCAP’s manufacturer ranking is as follows:

1. Jeep, Seat (5.0 stars)
2. Honda (4.8 stars)
3. Toyota (4.5 stars)
4. Citroen, VW (4.0 stars)
5. Ford (3.8 stars)
6. Hyundai, Peugeot, Renault, Suzuki (2.3 stars)
7. Nissan (2.2 stars)
8. Fiat (2.0 stars)
9. Chevrolet (1.8 stars)
10. JAC (1.0 stars)
11. Chery, Geely, Lifan (0.0 stars)

Alejandro Furas, Latin NCAP Secretary General said,

“Our new safety ranking reveals that several manufacturers in the Latin American region are working to achieve five star ratings in Latin NCAP’s crash tests. Others have shown us recent signs of improvement in safety performance making an effort to raise their star ratings.”

“However, it’s clear from our safety league table that among the global manufacturers GM’s Chevrolet brand is consistently achieving poor results with their top selling Aveo model scoring an appalling zero star rating in our most recent crash tests.

“It is simply unacceptable in 2015 for a global manufacturer like GM to be producing zero star cars.”

Editors Note