The Volvo C40 Recharge for both Australia and New Zealand, and New Zealand-supplied variants of the BYD Atto 3, have scored the maximum five-star safety rating in Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) testing.
Australian-supplied BYD Atto 3 vehicles are currently unrated and ANCAP is working with BYD to finalise the applicability of a rating for Australian-specified models.
Both single and twin motor variants of the Volvo C40 Recharge arrive with five stars, says ANCAP chief executive Carla Hoorweg.
Maximum points were awarded to the Volvo C40 Recharge for protection offered to the driver and front passenger in the frontal offset test, and for the driver in the full width frontal test, side impact test, oblique pole test, and both of the far-side impact tests.
These scores were, however, offset by the full 4.00 point penalty applied for vehicle-to-vehicle compatibility, with the C40 Recharge presenting a higher risk to occupants of an oncoming vehicle, if struck, says ANCAP.
As with the Atto 3, maximum points were achieved by the C40 Recharge for the protection of child occupants in the side impact and frontal offset crash tests.
Examining the C40 Recharge’s active safety capability, full points were scored for its ability to maintain its intended lane of travel and avoid run-off-road crashes through its lane support system (LSS) functionality.
The C40 Recharge’s autonomous emergency braking capability also scored well.
“The ratings see another two fully-electric five-star vehicles added to the market,” says Hoorweg.
The battery electric BYD Atto 3 small SUV scored well in each of the four key areas of assessment – the rating applying to both the Standard Range and Extended Range NZ variants.
Full scores were achieved for protection provided to the driver in the side impact and far-side impact tests. Whiplash protection for front and rear seat occupants also scored well, and maximum points were achieved for the protection of child occupants in the side impact and frontal offset crash tests.
The active safety capability of the Atto 3 was shown to be of a high standard, with the standard-fit pedestrian and cyclist-detecting autonomous emergency braking system offering good levels of performance in forward, reverse, daytime and night-time test scenarios.
Click here full details on the Volvo C40 Recharge rating, and here for full details on the BYD Atto 3 rating applicable in New Zealand.
