ANCAP Safety Ratings – Challenging Times
ANCAP continues to challenge both automotive manufacturers and fleet managers in the assessment and validity of their well-recognised vehicle safety ratings.
ANCAP safety ratings provide both a simple and effective measurement of vehicle safety aimed at empowering consumers with relevant information, important in their vehicle choice. In fleet terms, they set the benchmark for policy decisions which generally include the mandatory acquisition of Passenger/Light Commercial Vehicles which achieve a maximum 5-star rating.
However, this presents challenges - not only for vehicle manufacturers but increasingly also for Fleet Managers.
Safety Rating Assessments
Safety ratings are determined based on a series of internationally recognised, independent crash tests and safety assessments shared with their European counterpart; Euro NCAP.
An overall star rating is awarded following a series of destructive physical crash tests, an assessment of onboard safety features and equipment, and performance test of active collision avoidance technologies.
Vehicles are evaluated against the following key assessment pillars
- Adult Occupation Protection
- Child Occupant Protection
- Vulnerable Road User Protection
- Safety Assist
Notably, for each vehicle tested, there are minimum score thresholds for each of the pillars.
Top Performers and Exceptions
The design and development of a new vehicle is a meticulous process conducted over a long period, including substantial research and development. Vehicle manufacturers are acutely aware of what is required for their vehicles to perform well against the benchmarks set by ANCAP/Euro NCAP. Accordingly, most vehicles released in Australia receive a 5 star rating.
ANCAP recently announced their 2024 Top Performers. These vehicles not only received the maximum 5 star rating but were awarded the highest combined assessment scores:
1) Toyota Camry @ 88.4%
2) Mazda CX-80 @ 87.6%
3) Zeekr X @ 87.4%.
This highlights that top-of-the-line safety technologies are readily available in economic brand models, priced under $60K.


However, it’s important to realise that not all vehicles brought to our market achieve maximum safety ratings, which seems to surprise most members of the public. Some examples from 2024 were the Suzuki Swift – 1 star, Jeep Avenger and Hyundai i30 Sedan – 3 stars, and the MG ZS – 4 stars.
Safety Rating Validity Periods
In 2018, ANCAP aligned its assessment protocols with Euro NCAP, resulting in the introduction of a 6 year rating validity period. The period commences when the specific vehicle is tested.
At the end of the 6 year period, the safety rating is no longer considered applicable and newly-built vehicles of that model are listed as ‘Unrated’.
Expired Safety Ratings
So it is with keen interest that on January 1st each year, we review the list of expired ratings distributed by ANCAP.
This year there were some very notable inclusions, with potential ramifications for 2025 fleet sales. While the list is extensive, from a fleet perspective the Toyota Corolla and Hyundai i30 Hatch were most notable.
In particular, the Corolla again dominated Small Car sales in 2024 with a whopping 33.9% market share. Along with their stablemates the RAV4 and Camry, their Hybrid capability remains in huge demand.
These vehicles are often the backbone of pool vehicle fleets amongst Government and Not For Profit Organisation, as well as Business fleets.
Fleet Manager Challenges
Increasingly, there is a mismatch between the 6 year validity period that ANCAP uses and the automotive manufacturers vehicle lifecycles, which culminates in these ratings gaps.
It seems a new Corolla is being touted for 2026 which will mean that Toyota have a full year with the current Corolla deemed ‘Unrated’.
This presents a considerable challenge to Fleet Manager’s compliance with their fleet policy, as most would mandate the procurement of vehicles awarded with the maximum 5 stars. Yet, the vehicle itself is not less safe than the one built in Dec ’23! The incumbent safety technology hasn’t changed, it’s all about how long ago the vehicle was assessed and under what testing protocols.
Fleet Managers will be faced with a series of options, which could include:
- Ignoring the ‘Unrated’ status imposed by ANCAP, reasoning that the vehicle remains a safe vehicle for its employees if originally rated with 5 stars
- Retain existing vehicles for a longer period to wait on the new model
- Consider alternative 5 star vehicles, either within the same brand or other brands
- Reassess their fleet policies so that they aren’t solely reliant on ANCAP safety ratings, although this could be at the jeopardy of WHS obligations where maintaining a safe workplace for employees should be a top priority
Manufacturer Challenges
The traditional vehicle lifecycles of legacy automotive manufacturers are now being challenged by more nimble entrants to the market. Notably, the flood of Chinese manufactured vehicles coming into the country is hard to keep up with but in most cases, it seems they’re ticking all the right safety boxes for ANCAP.
Final Word
Ultimately, we see no downside here. ANCAP is both an advocate and overseer for vehicle safety standards. Vehicles are now far safer than they have ever been and in many circumstances we see that Vehicle Safety is a high priority for organisations with vehicle fleets.
The bigger and more concerning gap is driver training, which seems rarely to be a high priority and does not reinforce vehicle safety with driver knowledge and ability.