Evolving Safety Standards and the Role of Crash Tests in the Automotive Industry

It appears that the new standard configuration for vehicles being exported to Europe is the remote airbag. The Tesla Model Y, Weilai ET7, Polestar 2/3, and Lynk & Co 01 are all domestic productions that are either currently being exported to Europe or will be in the near future, and all of these vehicles offer the option of a remote airbag.

This new configuration is relatively rare in China, but it appears to be becoming increasingly popular for vehicles being exported to Europe. The remote airbag is an innovative safety feature that can deploy remotely in the event of an accident, providing additional protection for passengers and potentially saving lives.

The adoption of the remote airbag as a standard configuration for vehicles being exported to Europe is a positive development that underscores the importance of safety in the automotive industry. We look forward to seeing more vehicles with this feature on the market in the future.

The far-side airbag, also known as the inner-side airbag, is a new safety configuration designed to prevent front-seat passengers from colliding with each other and suffering an injury in a side-impact collision. This innovative feature is located between the front seats and deploys in the event of a side impact to provide additional protection for passengers.

In 2020, the European E-NCAP crash test introduced the far-side impact for the first time, which specifically measures the performance of far-side airbags and other safety systems in a side-impact collision. The test includes two main components: far-side excursion, which assesses the lateral restraint effect of the seat belt without a collision, and occupant interaction, which observes whether there is a collision between the two front seat occupants in a side impact.

The far-side airbag is an important safety feature that can help protect passengers in the event of a side-impact collision. Its inclusion as a standard configuration in some vehicles being exported to Europe is a positive development that underscores the importance of safety in the automotive industry.

Explaining so much is convenient to understand why one is yellow and the other is green...

In recent years, more and more car companies have been including remote airbags as a standard configuration in their vehicles, in an effort to improve their scores in passive safety tests for side-impact collisions. This trend has been particularly evident among independent car companies that are seeking to expand their presence in the international market, as well as overseas brands that have established factories in China and are exporting to Europe.

Since the beginning of this year, the European E-NCAP crash test has evaluated a number of domestic models that are being exported to Europe, including the Weilai ET7, Wei Brand Coffee 01/Coffee 02 (Mocha/Latte), Smart #1, Euler Funky Cat (Good Cat), and even economically positioned domestic cars such as the Chery Omenda and BYD ATTO 3 (Yuan PLUS). All of these vehicles are equipped with remote airbags for the European market.

The inclusion of remote airbags as a standard configuration in vehicles being exported to Europe is a positive development that underscores the importance of safety in the automotive industry. We look forward to seeing more vehicles with this feature on the market in the future.

There has been some controversy among American consumers regarding the inclusion of remote airbags as a standard configuration in the Tesla Model Y produced at the Shanghai factory. This is because the U.S. market, where the mainstream crash test IIHS does not include the remote effect, does not require the inclusion of remote airbags in vehicles. As a result, the Model Y produced for the U.S. market does not include this feature, while the version produced for the European and Chinese markets does.

However, it should be noted that the U.S. version of the Model Y has its own unique configurations as well, in order to comply with local regulations. Specifically, the U.S. version of the Model Y is equipped with front knee airbags, which are not available in the European and Chinese versions of the vehicle.

The inclusion of different safety configurations in vehicles produced for different markets is a common practice in the automotive industry, as it allows manufacturers to meet the specific requirements and regulations of different regions. The inclusion of remote airbags as a standard configuration in the Tesla Model Y produced for the European and Chinese markets is a positive development that underscores the importance of safety in the automotive industry.

US version Model Y unique knee airbag

Ultimately, the inclusion of specific safety configurations in vehicles is driven by local regulations and crash test standards, rather than any inherent sense of "conscience" on the part of car manufacturers. While there are some domestic models, such as Tesla, Weilai, and Polestar, that include remote airbags as standard even in markets where they are not required by regulations, these models are relatively few in number and all have the status of being "exported to Europe."

This suggests that both the desire to meet the safety requirements of the European market and the opportunity to demonstrate a commitment to safety have contributed to the inclusion of remote airbags as a standard configuration in these vehicles. Ultimately, the goal of car manufacturers is to produce vehicles that are safe, reliable, and meet the needs and expectations of their customers, regardless of the specific regulations and standards that apply in different markets. So, the main driving factor is local regulations and crash test standards.

The configuration of airbags is just one example of the many details that car manufacturers must consider when producing vehicles for different markets. In the past, domestic car manufacturers often struggled to meet the safety standards required by the European E-NCAP crash test, but in recent years this has changed, with a number of domestic models earning top ratings in the test.

This is particularly notable for domestic self-owned brands, which have made significant improvements in safety over the past decade. Many of these models are now earning four or five-star ratings in the E-NCAP test, a marked improvement from the two and three-star ratings they were frequently earning a decade ago.

However, it is important to note that the standards for E-NCAP and other crash tests have been evolving over time, and today's five-star rating cannot be directly compared to ratings earned in the past. In recent years, the North American IIHS has gained a reputation for its strict safety standards, particularly in the area of offset collision testing. At the same time, European crash tests have also been raising their standards and introducing new tests to further improve vehicle safety.

The improvements in safety and performance demonstrated by domestic car models in recent years are a positive development that reflects the ongoing efforts of manufacturers to produce safer and more reliable vehicles for their customers.

In recent years, the European E-NCAP crash test has introduced a number of innovations and upgrades to its standards in order to keep pace with advances in vehicle safety and testing. One example of this is the offset collision test, which was originally introduced by E-NCAP but has gained more widespread attention due to the more stringent 25% small offset collision test implemented by the North American IIHS.

In response, E-NCAP upgraded its offset collision test in 2020, increasing the overlap ratio from 40% to 50% and introducing a new element of realism by having the test vehicle collide with a moving trolley at a combined speed of 100km/h (50km/h for each vehicle). This level of realism in a frontal offset crash is unmatched by other tests around the world.

In addition to these innovations, E-NCAP has also taken steps to keep pace with the times by increasing the proportion of active safety scores in its overall rating from 13 to 16 in the 2020 standard upgrade. The test has also added a night test to its automatic emergency braking test for pedestrians, further increasing its level of realism and relevance to real-world conditions.

These upgrades and innovations demonstrate E-NCAP's commitment to continuously improving its standards and testing procedures in order to accurately assess the safety performance of vehicles.

It is well-known that car manufacturers often make different designs, materials, and configuration choices for the same model in different markets in order to meet the specific requirements and preferences of those markets. The inclusion of different types of airbags in different regions is just one example of this phenomenon, and there are also instances of the unnecessary reduction of steel materials and structures in order to meet specific market requirements.

However, it is important to note that in the short term, independent brands seeking to expand their presence in international markets are often more focused on establishing a foothold in these markets and enhancing their international image. As a result, the export sales that these brands may generate in the early stages of their expansion efforts may not be sufficient to support the material differences that some consumers might expect. At this stage, the safety of the overseas version of a particular model may be one factor that helps to build consumer confidence and establish the brand's reputation.

In the long run, however, the ability of car manufacturers to meet the safety and performance requirements of different markets will likely become more objective as they face increasing pressure to expand their international presence. Even if there may be some differences in the subjective willingness of manufacturers to meet these requirements, consumers will ultimately have the ability to influence and shape these decisions through their purchasing choices.