Besides PLUS Berhad, ASEAN NCAP – the New Car Assessment Program for Southeast Asian Countries – was also a recipient of the 2019 Prince Michael International Road Safety Awards. The awards programme, which has been ongoing since 1987, recognises achievement and innovation which will improve road safety. They are given to businesses or organisations which have developed initiatives or products that have made an outstanding contribution to the safety of the world’s roads.
The award for ASEAN NCAP is related to Vehicle Safety and recognises the aims to elevate vehicle safety standards, raise consumer awareness, and build a market for safety across South East Asia. ASEAN NCAP, hosted by the Malaysian Institute for Road Safety Research (MIROS), achieved a major legislative achievement: from March 1, 2020, all manufacturers selling vehicles in Malaysia will be required to display an ASEAN NCAP safety rating label for all passenger cars.
ASEAN NCAP has had its own crash test laboratory (referred to as PC3) since 2012 and has conducted some 100 tests which involve 90% of the models sold in the market. One in ten cars in the region now have been rated and 90% of the cars are rated 4 or the maximum of 5 stars.
Commenting on the award, MIROS Director-General and ASEAN NCAP Chairperson, Dr. Siti Zaharah Ishak said: “We are pleased and honoured to be recognised as one of the winners for this distinguished award. As an independent body assessing the safety performance of new vehicles in an emerging market like the South East Asian countries, ASEAN NCAP has made notable achievements in the vehicle safety area. One significant impact is that we are able to increase vehicle safety information to the consumers through the assessments that we conducted for new vehicles that are sold in the region.”
“Furthermore, through these assessments, we have successfully amplified the safety level of vehicles sold in the region such as having minimum double airbags as standard, seatbelt reminder systems and also electronic stability control as a standard fitment. This award marks a significant step in our journey towards reducing the high number fatalities due to road crashes in this region,” she said.
Other than performing assessments on new vehicles, ASEAN NCAP is also committed to work in areas that enhance the vehicle safety assessment such as positive engagement with relevant stakeholders. “I am confident this award will be a driving force for us to continue culminating in the reduction of vehicles with unsatisfactory safety levels in the South East Asia region,” added MIROS Director of Vehicle Safety and Biomechanics Research Centre and ASEAN NCAP Secretary-General, Adjunct Prof. Ir. Dr. Khairil Anwar Abu Kassim.
First flagship models of Vietnam’s Vinfast score 5 stars in ASEAN NCAP tests
