New Fiat boss Arnaud Belloni has said Euro NCAP crash safety ratings are no longer important for manufacturers because “customers don’t get it any more”.
The Italian brand is currently developing an entry-level small EV that could meet the European Union’s new E-Car regulations for cut-price machines. To keep costs down, such models could be fitted with fewer safety and semi-autonomous driver assistance features, which would be likely to result in lower scores in the European safety test scheme.
Asked whether producing an entry-level E-Car means accepting a lower Euro NCAP score, Belloni said: “I don’t know how to be politically correct here, but Euro NCAP, it is existing but customers don’t get it any more. They are totally lost and it’s because of Euro NCAP changing the rules every two years, so what was a five-star car a few years ago becomes a three-star car, and then a two.
“I’ve worked in this industry for 35 years and Euro NCAP has been there almost from the beginning. And I can tell you very few manufacturers are taking it really seriously.
"They don’t drive strategy based on your rank. Customers don’t know because they are lost, so it’s not important.”
Belloni added that customers trust that new cars are inherently safe. He said: “Everybody’s clever. A consumer is clever, and there are a lot of regulations everywhere to regulate your life every day.
"People understand that manufacturers are doing their best to improve the safety on board or reduce CO2 emissions. This industry has massively evolved more than any other industry in the last 30 years, and customers realise that.”