26 January 2022 – Just like the year before, 2021 was to a great degree defined by the COVID-19 pandemic. The rollout of vaccines and the loosening of lockdown measures brought a shred of hope to the automotive industry and helped bring back consumer confidence. New car sales, however, continued to be plagued by the ongoing chip shortage, causing cuts in production volumes and delays.
Consumer interest in electric vehicles continued to rise, as demonstrated by increasing number of electric vehicle registrations across Europe and the wave of new electrified models and new EV brands released on the market. Besides a significant number of electrified or hybrid variants of previously rated ICE car models, Euro NCAP tested several BEVs, with mixed outcomes when it comes to safety.
Overall, 2021 was a far more productive one for Euro NCAP than the previous year had been. Despite the new test requirements on post-crash, crash protection and crash prevention, the biggest share of new cars met the 5-star requirements. But not all cars impressed, exposing an apparent conflict between fulfilling green and safety agendas at some companies. Also, an increasing number of cars offered assisted driving technology, with various levels of sophistication. Tests carried out showed that this technology is rapidly maturing and going mainstream.
This year, Euro NCAP will celebrate 25 years “for safer cars” and looks forwards to a challenging and busy year.