01.03.2023
New and stricter van safety assessment criteria
The international consortium Euro NCAP – in which the Automobile Club of Italy also participates – has announced the adoption, starting this year, of new and stricter van safety evaluation criteria, thus following the launch of the Commercial Van Safety Rating of 2021.
“Safety technologies and innovative solutions are developing at a rapid pace – said Angelo Sticchi Damiani, President of ACI – and Euro NCAP must continuously adjust its criteria, to ensure that manufacturers maintain the impetus to innovate and to make the latest safety technologies available in all vehicles on European roads”.
“Just because vans are used for commercial purposes – underlined Sticchi Damiani – does not mean that they should be less safe than cars and – by 2026 – they will have to meet the same requirements”.
The results – announced today – of the tests carried out on the basis of the new paradigms confirm the Fiat Ducato as the best of the eighteen selected vehicles (already tested last year), despite the fact that the evaluation of the van Stellantis drops from “Platinum” to “Gold” .
“Gold” also for the Ford Transit. Mercedes-Benz Vito and Sprinter, Volkswagen Transporter, Renault Trafic, Nissan Primastar and Volkswagen Crafter were classified “Silver”.
“Bronze”, however, for Citroën Jumpy (known as Dispatch in the UK), Citroen Jumper (Relay), Iveco Daily, Opel/Vauxhall Vivaro, Opel/Vauxhall Movano, Peugeot Expert, Peugeot Boxer, Renault Master, Toyota PROACE.
At the rear of the group, also in this series of tests, the Nissan Interstar, considered “not recommendable” due to the lack of accident prevention systems.
According to Euro NCAP’s plans, by 2026 vans will have to meet the same ADAS requirements as cars. From then on, the assessment will only consider series installation in all European markets.
The consortium also plans to introduce an evaluation scheme for heavy-duty vehicles (HGV) soon. Indeed, according to Euro NCAP, ADAS technology can help prevent or effectively mitigate the consequences of accidents involving commercial vehicles, accidents that are not higher in number than cars but are, on average, more serious.
Finally, with the new criteria, Euro NCAP pays greater attention to vulnerable road users, with particular regard to night-time scenarios and the safety of pedestrians and cyclists.
Full test results are available on Euro NCAP site