Euro NCAP releases year in numbers for 2022

Euro NCAP has released its annual year in numbers for 2022, which marked 25 years of crash and safety testing for the Belgium-based organisation.

Euro NCAP last year published a record total of 73 safety ratings, 67 of which were for brand-new car models in Europe.

This includes 65 models with the lowest safety specification and two ratings for models with optional equipment – and six for variants of previously tested models.

Additionally, Euro NCAP issued Assisted Driving gradings for five cars equipped with Highway Assist and 19 commercial van ADAS ratings.

Fifty out of the 65 cars received five stars (78%), while the remaining 15 received four stars (22%). In contrast to 2021, no vehicle received three stars or less.

In 2022, fully-electric vehicles made up 22 out of 65 new models, and five out of six of Euro NCAP’s Best-in-Class winners were electric.

Seven brands made their Euro NCAP debut in 2022, six of which originate from China.

Centre airbags to reduce injuries in far-side crashes are one of the new safety elements that have recently been recognised. Of the 65 new cars examined, 47 (72%) came with standard front-seat centre airbags.

Attention assist systems are becoming increasingly common in new cars. In 2022, most vehicles evaluated by Euro NCAP (94%) already included a system for detecting driver drowsiness.

In 53 out of 61 cases this is delivered by monitoring of steering-wheel input and/or lane position, while in nine cars direct driver eye tracking or a combination is used.

Last year also saw the addition of Austria and Norway as new Euro NCAP members, increasing the tester’s geographic coverage.

Michiel van Ratingen, secretary general at Euro NCAP said 2023 will see the organisation introduce new protocols in car testing that “will consider the wider implications on vulnerable road users, but also consideration of a new target group that will be announced later in the year”.