Established in the early 1990s as just the second New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) in the world after the United States, ANCAP SAFETY and its star ratings have become synonymous among Australian and New Zealand new car buyers, vehicle manufacturers and fleet operators as the independent and trusted voice on vehicle safety.
Working tirelessly over the past three decades to enhance the safety of new vehicles sold across Australia and New Zealand, this year marks ANCAP’s 30th Anniversary.
When ANCAP began, its ultimate aim was to make safety as important to new car buyers as engine size, styling and comfort.
ANCAP began as a two-year campaign to shine a light on the comparable levels of safety offered by Australia’s most popular selling models. It has now grown to become the priority measure used to determine the safety of new vehicles.
The first vehicles tested by ANCAP in 1993 underwent just one crash test – the full width frontal test conducted at 56km/h - and were fitted with minimal safety features. In stark contrast, vehicles rated by ANCAP today are subject to seven destructive crash tests covering a range of crash scenarios, as well as a suite of collision avoidance performance tests comprising hundreds of varying daytime and night-time scenarios involving other vehicles, pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists.