VW Taigun and Skoda Kushaq first to achieve 5 stars in Global NCAP’s updated crash tests
The first round of results under Global NCAP’s more demanding crash test requirements for India were published today with the Volkswagen Taigun and Skoda Kushaq scoring top star ratings for adult and child occupant safety.
The Taigun and Kushaq are twin models sharing the same platform and produced in the same plant. The models achieved five stars for adult and five stars for child occupant protection becoming the first models ever to achieve five stars for both adults and children.
Global NCAP’s updated crash test protocols assess frontal and side impact protection for all tested models, Electronic Stability Control (ESC), pedestrian protection and side impact pole protection assessments are also required for vehicles scoring the highest star ratings. More information on the latest protocol requirements can be found on the Global NCAP web site. (https://www.globalncap.org/resources).
Assessed in their most basic safety specification, with ESC fitted as standard, the models demonstrated a stable structure in the frontal impact, adequate to good protection for adult occupants, and marginal to good protection in the side impact scenarios. Child occupants received full protection during the front and side impact.
Alejandro Furas, Secretary General of Global NCAP said,
“We welcome and congratulate Skoda and Volkswagen’s initiative to meet Global NCAP’s new five star requirements for the Kushaq and Taigun through voluntary testing.
“We urge all car makers to aspire to and achieve this level of crash test performance going forward, maintaining the momentum of safety improvements we have seen steadily develop through our programme since we began our Indian testing in 2014”.
David Ward, President of the Towards Zero Foundation said,
“Following the introduction of Global NCAP’s more demanding protocol enhancements in July, it is satisfying to already see these five star crash ratings for VW and Skoda.
“The majority of domestic and international automakers understand that Indian consumers rightly expect high safety standards as a minimum requirement. We look forward to this trend continuing when Bharat NCAP gets underway next year.”
Saul Billingsley, Executive Director of the FIA Foundation, said
“Global NCAP has catalysed a dramatic transformation of auto safety in India, from testing a large number of zero-star cars in 2014 to now pushing the five-star boundaries with new and more ambitious test protocols, which, as we see today, cars are achieving. Hundreds of thousands of five-star cars are now being driven on Indian roads, protecting occupants against death and serious injury.”
Volkswagen Taigun / Skoda Kushaq
Read the full crash test report
Watch the crash test video
Download crash test image
Note to Editors
The Volkswagen Taigun and Skoda Kushaq were tested in compliance with the requirements of Global NCAP’s voluntary test procedure.
Safer Cars For India Campaign
The #SaferCarsForIndia campaign was launched by Global NCAP in 2014 with the objective of promoting safer vehicles in the country. Between 2014 and 2022 Global NCAP has completed more than fifty safety assessments which have acted as an important catalyst in the safety improvement of Indian cars. www.globalncap.org
Global NCAP is a major programme of the Towards Zero Foundation, a UK based charity working internationally in support of the new UN Decade of Action for Road Safety, with a goal of halving road deaths and serious injuries by 2030.
YOUTUBE
