Euro NCAP Rated Fewer Cars In 2023 Compared To 2022

In 2022, the Euro NCAP body rated no less than 73 vehicles in total, making it the body's busiest year to date. 2023 however saw that number fall dramatically to just 18 vehicles.

2022 proved to be a relatively busy year for the Euro NCAP vehicle crash-testing and safety assessment agency whereby it certified a record total of 73 vehicles. Fast forward to 2023  and the total vehicles tested and certified by the body marked a major drop – just 18 vehicles, in fact.

“Manufacturers were eager to get their cars rated in 2022, demonstrating that they met the original design targets, before the rating scheme changed in 2023 with the introduction of new, challenging test scenarios,” explained a Euro NCAP spokesperson to UK title Autocar recently.

Effectively, the assessment body blamed the significant reduction partly on carmakers rushing to beat the introduction of tougher tests cycles that the Euro NCAP body are set to implement. To date, full five-star ratings by the assessment body are still highly coveted by carmakers the world over.

In fact, the Euro NCAP rating system’s ability to influence how well a new car sells, as well as the insurance group it occupies, remain critical considerations for most – if not all – of the world’s major automakers, especially when it comes to the their latest and greatest.

Euro NCAP partly blames the drop in vehicles rated in 2023 due to automakers rushing to beat the introduction of tougher test cycles by the body.

Other factors cited by the body include the Covid 19 pandemic, as well as the number of carmakers still transitioning from and extending the life-cycles of combustion (ICE)-powered products.

Simply put, new test scenarios by the Euro NCAP now define product cycles and launch dates. This also led to a sizeable number of leading automakers towards establishing at the outset what their target star rating is against which version of the protocols.

“It isn’t uncommon that manufacturers need a bit more time to understand what requirements must be met for five stars. We have seen these fluctuations [in our testing numbers] occur over the last decade,” the same Euro NCAP spokesperson added.

Aside from changes to its testing schemes, a number of manufacturers that were still in the process of transitioning, extending the life-cycles of certain combustion (ICE)-powered products whilst creating space to develop all-new electric vehicles (EVs) are to blame for this drop too.

Another factor that led to this too was the Covid 19 pandemic, which prompted Euro NCAP body to extend its 2022 for an additional year – the same test cycles were in place since 2020.

“Many manufacturers were forced to postpone new car introductions and were plagued by the chip shortages, causing cuts in production volumes and delays,” added the Euro NCAP spokesperson further.