IT’S A QUESTION WE’VE ASKED before: why do we need independent local testing of car safety when tests have already been conducted overseas?
Now the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) has called in to question ANCAP’s motive for re-testing vehicles in Australia.
“The Australian automotive industry continues to work with governments and others towards harmonisation with international standards with respect to vehicle regulation in many areas including safety, emissions control and theft reduction,” according to FCAI Chief Executive Tony Weber. “Euro NCAP and ANCAP claim they are effectively harmonised, however, this is not reflected in ANCAP’s actions.”
“Alignment with global standards is the best way of ensuring Australians can have the highest vehicle design standards at the lowest possible prices.
“Why is ANCAP spending potentially up to $500,000, which includes taxpayer dollars, to undertake a test on a six-year-old vehicle that has already been assessed by its sister organisation Euro NCAP in 2015?”
We’d also point out that local testing costs Australian car companies dearly as well. When a Kia model scored less than a perfect five-star rating, the company did the right thing and modified it before submitting it for retesting. What many people may not be aware of is that car companies usually provide vehicles for ANCAP testing at their own expense (and so the total cost of local testing is considerably more than the $500,000 Mr Weber suggests is being spent by ANCAP). Kia told seniordriveraus at the time that providing an additional three vehicles for testing cost it more than $100,000, over and above the cost of providing three vehicles for the initial testing. Needless to say, those costs need to be recouped, so they end up being added to the price the Australian consumer has to pay.
“It makes no sense, can send a confused message to Australian car buyers and is not the best use of taxpayer funds,” Mr Weber said.
The FCAI concern has been triggered by the ANCAP result announced today for the Express van. ANCAP has assessed the vehicle at ‘zero’ stars while the ‘sister’ vehicle which went on sale in Europe in 2015 is assessed by Euro NCAP as a three-star vehicle.
“The Australian vehicle buyer will understandably be confused at the two different ratings for essentially the same vehicle. It serves no purpose for the customer and it serves no purpose to the industry,” Mr Weber added.
“Safe vehicles on our roads must be a priority for everyone in our industry, including ANCAP. Surely, there is no debating that point. Rather than seeking a headline, ANCAP would better serve the Australian public by seeking a harmonised adoption of the test and measurement protocols as well as consumer messaging. This ensures consistency and clarity for everyone concerned,” he said.