ANCAP has announced changes to its new vehicle assessment criteria for 2026-2028, with the safety agency dividing its assessment into “safety phases” before, during and after the accident.
Every three years, the ANCAP (Australasian New Car Assessment Program) reassesses its protocols – the method and assessment criteria for testing new vehicles – to keep assessments relevant to new technologies. The current protocols cover the period 2023-2025.
The “new generation” 2026-2028 protocols come into force for vehicles assessed from January 1, 2026 and were developed in collaboration with Euro NCAP (European New Car Assessment Program).
While full details of the new protocols have yet to be announced – and are expected early in the new year – ANCAP has released a preview of its approach for 2026 and beyond.
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The key changes focus on batteries for electric cars, as well as intrusive driver assistance technologies and cars without physical buttons – all part of a holistic view of accident scenarios, including before and after a collision.
ANCAP said the changes to the assessment criteria were achieved using the Haddon Injury Prevention Index, “which examines what happens before, during and after an accident”.
“This new approach also provides a structure that can adapt to the technological developments that will shape the future of automated driving,” said Carla Hoorweg, CEO of ANCAP.
A vehicle’s safety rating is valid for up to six years, meaning the latest three-year protocols must allow for further developments on vehicles not available for sale until 2034.
“Our mission is to continually push for improvements in all areas of vehicle safety and our 2026 protocols reflect this,” Ms Hoorweg said.
“The result will be better protection of vehicle occupants and those around them through active accident prevention, superior protection in the event of an accident and improved post-crash management.”
Rating
From 2026, four key areas – which ANCAP calls the “Levels of Safety” – will form the final safety assessment, each having a total score of 100 points, from which a combined final score will be calculated.
The levels are: Safe Driving, Accident Avoidance, Crash Prevention and Post-Crash, with each level setting “minimum thresholds” against which a vehicle can be assigned a final star rating.
These replace the current four pillars of adult occupant protection, child occupant protection, protection of vulnerable road users and safety assistant.
ANCAP’s star rating system continues to award up to five stars to a vehicle, with the higher the number indicating greater safety according to the test criteria.
Safe driving covers elements from seat belt use to driver fatigue warnings to advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS).
Accident prevention examines accident prevention systems, while Crash protection deals with physical elements – airbags, head restraints and vehicle structure – that prevent or reduce injuries to passengers and other road users.
New testing changes are being introduced here, with any test that produces a red critical area on a crash test dummy – indicating the most dangerous scenario – automatically capping a car’s rating at four stars.
For vehicles where a seat folds, such as when the MG 3’s driver’s seat twisted during Euro NCAP tests earlier this year, the score for that particular test will be reduced by 50 percent.
The tests haven’t changed much; However, a third dummy was added for the full-width frontal test, in which the female rear passengers are joined by a male passenger dummy.
The test also includes a deformable guardrail in place of the previous rigid wall, which ANCAP says will provide more accurate information about the deployment and effectiveness of the airbags.
ANCAP said more elements will be added to its whiplash test, including a seat structural analysis, while rollover protection criteria will determine whether curtain airbags remain inflated for an appropriate period of time.
The Post-crash The phase takes into account emergency assistance and response systems, such as a vehicle’s ability to call triple zero.
prevention
Among the preventive measures, ANCAP will consider the “robustness” of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and assess the smoothness of systems such as drowsiness warnings, lane assist and emergency braking.
The move comes after several carmakers recalibrated ADAS settings in Australian models after customers complained they were too intrusive and made driving difficult.
A study published earlier this year by insurance company AAMI found that one in five Australian drivers turned off their advanced driver assistance system (ADAS), which they found annoying and apparently limiting its effectiveness.
Many new car buyers also criticize the lack of physical buttons for important vehicle functions in new vehicles, which have been relocated to the infotainment screen menus.
This criticism has led to Volkswagen confirming plans to reintroduce dashboard switches in future models, while a survey of Hyundai owners in North America in 2024 also showed disdain for removing physical buttons – something ANCAP has addressed with its new protocols.
“Starting in 2026, we are calling on automakers to either offer physical buttons for key driver controls such as horn, turn signals, hazard lights, wipers, and headlights, or to dedicate a fixed portion of the cabin screen to these primary driving functions,” the report says.
The new protocols will also award points to vehicles that are able to “interpret” a pedal misuse – mistaking one pedal for another – and provide a preventive response.
After the crash
Post-collision changes include requiring electric vehicles (EVs) to isolate their batteries – to prevent electric shock to first responders – and to alert emergency services in the event of an accident.
Many new cars have electrically operated door handles, often flush with the body, and new protocols require them to function after any type of collision, even when power is not available.
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