Neta V Gets Zero-Star Score for ASEAN NCAP Crash Test

The Neta V EV is the first car to get a zero-star score under the new ASEAN NCAP 2021-2025 protocol.

The Neta V has achieved a zero-star score for the New Car Assessment Program for Southeast Asian Countries (ASEAN NCAP) crash test. This all-electric compact hatch is also the first EV to be tested at MIROS’ new Provisional CRASE Crash Centre (PC3), while at the same time being the first vehicle to get zero stars under ASEAN NCAP’s new 2021-2025 protocol.

The particular Neta V unit tested here was a fully-imported (CBU) unit from China, which is meant for the ASEAN regional markets, including Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, and Brunei.

Back to the crash test result, the Neta V achieved underwhelming scores for all categories, thus granting it a poor overall score of only 28.55 points out of the possible 100. Upon closer inspection, the Neta V has only scored 7.89 points for the Adult Occupant Protection (AOP) category that constitutes 40% of the overall score.

Part of the reason for its poor score in this category is due to the zero points scored for both the frontal impact and head protection sub-categories, while 6.31 points out of the possible 8 were awarded for the side impact sub-category.

Moving on to the next category, the Neta V tested fared better in the Child Occupant Protection (COP) category at 13.51 points, with said EV “performed well in both frontal offset and side impact tests.” Despite this, the Neta V still got poor results for both the Child Restraint System (CRS) installation and vehicle-based assessments, while zero points were awarded for the child detection sub-category.

For reference, the Neta V only comes with two airbags, while the seat belt reminder is only available for the driver’s seat. Notably, this EV also lacks some key safety features such as seat belt pre-tensioners and load limiters, while no ADAS functions can be found here.

The absence of said safety features also explained why the Neta V scored poorly in the Safety Assist (SA) category, with only 7.14 points gained from this category. Besides nonexistent advanced safety assist technologies and autonomous emergency braking, the EV only gained six points for the effective braking and avoidance sub-category, while only 1.5 points were awarded for its seatbelt reminder feature.

By far the worst category for the Neta V is on the new Motorcyclist Safety tests, as the EV’s lack of ADAS functions grants it zero points for this newly-added category. Recently added for the new 2021-2025 protocol, this category aims to test the ADAS features such as blind-spot detection (BSD), as well as protection against motorists and pedestrians.

Since its inception back in 2011, there haven’t been many cars to get a zero-star rating for ASEAN NCAP, with most of them either not available for sale in Malaysia or being commercial vehicles. Currently retailing at RM100,000, the Neta V is one of the most affordable EVs you can buy now, but perhaps this result may have prompted you to look elsewhere.