The European New Car Assessment Program (Euro NCAP) has released the winners of the best-in-class honors for 2022, following what it termed as its busiest year ever of crash testing. Of the winners, five out of the six were all-electric, and the final model was a plug-in hybrid.
To make matters even more special, Euro NCAP says that this is the first time ever that two Chinese vehicles were among the winners, and that two different Teslas were named the best in their class.
In actuality, although there were only two Tesla models among the winners (the Model S and the Model Y), the brand earned three best-in-class awards. The Tesla Model Y was named the best “Small Off-Road” vehicle, while the Model S won both the “Executive” and “Pure Electric” classes.
Read: 15 Cars Including The Hyundai Ioniq 6 And Tesla Model S Get A Perfect Score In Euro NCAP Crash Tests
The safety organization lauded both vehicles for their crash test results, saying they earned high marks in the Adult Occupant Protection test, and earned the highest scores of all vehicles in the Safety Assist category (98 percent).
The Chinese vehicles that earned best-in-class accolades from Euro NCAP, meanwhile, were the Ora Funky Cat, which was the best “Small Family Car,” and the WEY Coffee 01 (the only PHEV on the list), which won the “Large Off-Road” class. It also earned high marks in the safety assist category (94 percent), and was called a good all-rounder by the safety organization. The Ora Funky Cat, meanwhile, was singled out as being “exceptionally well-equipped” for a vehicle in its class.
Finally, the last winner for 2022 was the Hyundai Ioniq 6. The sedan earned the best-in-class in the “Large Family Car” segment. Euro NCAP called its adult occupant safety score of 97 percent “exceptionally high.”
“2022 has been one of Euro NCAP’s busiest years yet and we have seen a lot of new car makers and new technologies,” said Michiel van Ratingen, Euro NCAP’s secretary general. “It’s clear a good Euro NCAP rating is seen by car manufacturers as critical to success in Europe. This can only mean better safety equipment and safer cars for European consumers all round”