New Chinese saloon scores five stars at Euro NCAP

FLEDGLING Chinese car brand Qoros has scored an impressive five-star Euro NCAP result with its first car, the 3 saloon.

Bolstering a 95% score in the long-established adult occupant protection and an 87% awarded for child passenger protection is an excellent 77% for pedestrian protection – a high score in what is a developing category.

The 95% is, according to Qoros, the highest adult occupant protection score awarded by Euro NCAP in 2013. It has helped the brand achieve its status as the first Chinese-based manufacturer to produce a five-star car in the notoriously challenging crash test regime.

Volker Steinwascher, Vice Chairman of Qoros, said: “The safety of our vehicles was one of our key development goals from the start. It’s a crucial demonstration that our customers are the most important consideration and it also says a great deal about the engineering integrity of the car as a whole.”

Andy Piper, Chief Engineer of Vehicle Safety and Homologation explains: “The 2013 Euro NCAP protocol demands very accurate computer simulations when calculating the pedestrian protection performance. As industry standard pedestrian models were not sophisticated enough for this purpose, Qoros developed its own models.

“The outcome is that we are proud to have developed one of the best pedestrian protection systems ever assessed by Euro NCAP without any compromise to our distinctive styling or our class leading aerodynamics performance.”

By Press Association reporter