Understanding Euro NCAP star ratings
Vehicles tested through the Euro NCAP safety rating program include a wide range of popular cars being sold in Europe and beyond.
These vehicles are selected for testing based on a variety of factors including the volume of vehicles sold. The majority of all new vehicles sold are covered by a Euro NCAP safety rating.
Ratings are published regularly and Euro NCAP endeavours to have ratings available as close as possible to a vehicle's launch onto the market. In some cases, ratings may not be available for some time after market launch. A small percentage of new vehicle models are not able to be rated and are classified as ‘unrated’.
If you can’t find a Euro NCAP safety rating for your car and would like to check if there is one available, contact us.
The year given for each Euro NCAP star rating denotes the rating year requirements a vehicle was assessed against. This is an important element given Euro NCAP’s test and rating criteria increase in stringency every three years.
Checking the year helps consumers compare vehicles rated to the same test criteria. Euro NCAP recommends that you choose a vehicle with the highest safety rating possible, with the test performed no more than six years ago.
Euro NCAP results can be used to compare the protection offered to drivers and passengers, pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists across a range of the most common crash types for vehicles of similar type, size and weight. Care must be taken over results for different vehicles across different categories as only those vehicles of similar size and mass can be compared.
To view the Euro NCAP safety ratings of close to 1,000 vehicle models, and work out which car is safest for you, click here
Vehicle models rated by Euro NCAP are issued with a year of test that is valid for six years.
The year of testing appears alongside each rating. It indicates the requirements against which the vehicle was tested and helps consumers compare vehicle models.
When a new or significantly updated model is introduced to the market it becomes eligible for re-assessment to the latest rating criteria. Generally, most models will be replaced by a new generation model, or updates will be made to the existing model, before the six-year period of validity expires.
If a model is not replaced or re-assessed to Euro NCAP’s latest rating criteria within the six-year rating validity period, the rating for that model expires and the rating status of newly-built units changes to ‘unrated’. Vehicles built during the six-year rating validity period retain their rating.
Euro NCAP encourages vehicle manufacturers to update the safety features and technologies fitted to their vehicles throughout their model life – particularly if they are to remain in the market for six years or longer – to ensure they continue to provide the best levels of safety for new car buyers.
Euro NCAP recommends consumers look for a vehicle with a five-star safety rating and the most recent year of test they can afford.
In general, Euro NCAP does not re-test facelifted models within the same model series unless significant structural and specification changes are introduced that would improve the rating. Similarly, if safety features are removed, Euro NCAP may re-assess the vehicle and issue a revised rating.
Early Euro NCAP safety ratings assessed the ability of a vehicle to protect vehicle occupants and vulnerable road users (pedestrians) from injury in the event of a crash. That changed from 2011, when the scope of the testing process was extended to include a focus on active safety including advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), and collision avoidance technologies such as autonomous emergency braking (AEB), lane support systems (LSS) and speed assistance systems (SAS).
When browsing a car's safety rating, look for its ‘Safety Assist’ score for a summary of how well its active safety systems perform.
No. Rather than increase the number of stars awarded to a vehicle, Euro NCAP will maintain its zero to five star rating scale, with five stars remaining the highest safety rating. Euro NCAP is making it more challenging for vehicle manufacturers to achieve five stars by regularly updating its test requirements to promote continuous improvements in vehicle safety.
Choosing safer vehicles
Euro NCAP evaluates the likelihood of serious injury or death to vehicle occupants (adults and children), occupants of a ‘collision partner’ vehicle, pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists across a range of common crash scenarios, as well as a vehicle’s ability to avoid or minimise the severity of a crash through active collision avoidance technologies.
The test results published by Euro NCAP provide consumers with comparable vehicle safety information across four key areas of assessment, with five-star rated vehicles providing a high and balanced level of safety performance. The combination of a sound structure, good restraint systems and active safety assist technologies provide the best chance of survival in a crash.
Euro NCAP recommends you choose a vehicle with the highest safety rating possible, bearing in mind that its result is valid for six years from publication.
To view the Euro NCAP safety ratings of close to 1,000 vehicle models, and work out which car is best for you, click here. Results can be filtered and refined by safety features, star rating, year of test, vehicle type, price and more.
For many people their vehicle is their workplace. Providing safe vehicles is an important work health and safety consideration for organisations and employers.
Euro NCAP recommends fleets and commercial buyers purchase and use vehicles which hold the maximum five-star Euro NCAP safety rating. In addition, look for the year of testing which identifies the requirements against which a model was tested. Fleets and commercial buyers should look to purchase a five-star vehicle with a datestamp no more than three years old. This will ensure the vehicle has the latest safety attributes available in the market.
It is recommended that both company car drivers and private motorists using a car for work purposes should have a five-star Euro NCAP safety rating with a datestamp of no more than six years old.
Euro NCAP’s traditional safety (star) rating program covers vans and trucks as well as passenger cars.
The ratings of vans are based on assessment of their Safety Assist (ADAS) technologies.
Click here for further details.
What is tested in Euro NCAP ratings
Electrified vehicles (EV) (including battery electric, fuel cell and hybrid-electric vehicles) are subjected to the same safety tests as any other vehicle rated by Euro NCAP. However, some additional elements are monitored during the process:
The output of the high-voltage battery is monitored. High voltage batteries are fitted with a ‘safety cut-out’ that will rapidly disconnect the battery in the event of a crash. We monitor the output to record if and when this cut-out operates.
The vehicle body is checked safely for any high-voltage immediately after the crash. If the safety cut-out were to fail and a damaged high-voltage wire was to be in contact with the vehicle body, then a person touching the vehicle could be injured. Test technicians use insulated gloves and stand on a rubber mat to ensure that the vehicle has no high voltages and is safe to touch.
The battery is examined for any sign of damage, such as intrusion into the battery unit, leakage of fluids, fire or abnormal heat.
Yes, from 2003, all vehicles rated by Euro NCAP include an assessment of Child Occupant Protection (COP). This evaluates the level of protection offered by the vehicle to child occupants seated in appropriate child restraints in the rear seats. From 2026, the elements of the assessment that comprised COP are included in various stages of safety, such as Safe Driving and Crash Protection. An assessment of the vehicle’s ability to effectively accommodate a range of child restraints is included and, from 2023, Child Presence Detection systems were assessed as part of the Euro NCAP safety rating process.
Child dummies (a 6-year-old and a 10-year-old) are included in the frontal offset and side impact crash tests.
Severe rear collisions are relatively rare and usually involve being struck by a much larger vehicle. Frontal crashes and severe side impacts account for most car occupant fatalities, which is one reason why Euro NCAP replicates these crash types.
While destructive rear-end crash tests are not conducted, whiplash protection testing forms an integral part of the test and rating process. Our autonomous emergency braking (AEB) tests also assess a vehicle’s ability to avoid rear-end crashes with stationary, braking or slower-moving vehicles.
How the programme works
Each year, a selection of new and popular models is chosen for testing. These are usually new releases, although sometimes cars already on sale are included as well. Read more
The Euro NCAP testing process is extensive and many assessment factors are examined. The time required to test and publish Euro NCAP's safety ratings can differ in relation to each model. Where possible, Euro NCAP endeavours to have a rating available at, or around the time, a model goes on sale.
For a full assessment, Euro NCAP typically requires a minimum of six test vehicles. Four are destroyed in the full-scale crash tests, one is used for the pedestrian sub-component impact tests and another is used for track testing of the advanced driver assistance systems offered on that model. In addition, seats are needed for whiplash testing, and components such as bonnets and windscreens are required for the pedestrian impact tests. It is possible to use a car for track testing, for example, before it is used for a crash test, but this extends the time needed to assess the vehicle and is not preferred.
A full Euro NCAP test programme costs several hundreds of thousands of Euros. The equipment needed to perform crash tests - dummies, for example - is very expensive and, by the nature of the work, requires regular maintenance and repair to ensure consistent performance and reliable results. In addition, the cost of the test vehicles and associated parts must be factored in. Euro NCAP tests vehicles which range from everyday runabouts to very expensive premium models, so this portion of the total cost can vary widely.
Severe rear collisions are relatively rare and usually involve being struck by a much larger vehicle. Frontal crashes and severe side impacts account for most car occupant fatalities, which is one reason why Euro NCAP replicates these crash types.
While destructive rear-end crash tests are not conducted, whiplash protection testing forms an integral part of the test and rating process. Autonomous emergency braking (AEB) tests also assess a vehicle’s ability to avoid rear-end collisions with stationary, braking or slower-moving vehicles.
Euro NCAP and vehicle safety rules
No. Euro CAP testing is performed on an independent basis. Its requirements generally go beyond the legal requirements.
It is important that Euro NCAP's independent role exists parallel to regulation, as promoting and educating consumers to influence consumer choice will encourage the market supply and uptake of advanced safety features and technologies more quickly than the regulatory process alone.
