Euro NCAP kicks off the start of a new year of car safety testing by recognizing the top performers of last year and the winners of the 2021 Best in Class awards.
Euro NCAP tested 33 new cars in 2021, of which 22 achieved the top 5-star rating with Skoda finishing holding two top awards, more than any other car maker.
Among the successes, the Mercedes-EQ EQS emerged as best in the “Executive Car” and “Pure Electric” categories, narrowly beating runner-up the Polestar 2. In the “Small Off-Road” category, the winner is the Nissan Qashqai with an outstanding performance in active safety.
The award in the “Large-Off Road” category goes to Škoda’s first all-electric SUV, the Enyaq iV. The Toyota Yaris Cross took the top spot in the “Small MPV” category and the Škoda Fabia was the best “Small Family Car”.
Dr. Michiel van Ratingen, Euro NCAP Secretary General, said, “2021 was a tough year for the car industry: a shortage of parts, semiconductors in particular, was the sting in the tail of the Covid crisis, affecting development timelines, production and sales.
“Still, we saw quite a number of new car models coming to the market, many of them electric or hybrid, and many of them achieving five-star ratings despite the demanding requirements. Well done to the winners as well as to the runners-up, some of which were very close contenders for the top slot in their respective categories.”
