Latin NCAP has released the results of its latest batch of crash-tests, with the two hatchbacks under scrutiny both failing the assessment.
The BYD F0 – the first vehicle from the Chinese automaker to be tested by Latin NCAP – failed to score a single star for adult safety and managed just one star for child occupant protection.
Essentially an “unlicensed copy” of the Peugeot 107, the most basic version of the BYD F0 “offered a stable structure in the frontal impact, but showed high-risk injuries in adult dummies due to the lack of airbags,” said Latin NCAP.
And the other vehicle tested? Well, the Fiat Palio scored just one star for adult occupant safety and three stars for child occupant protection. The poor adult result was down to the chest impact recorded by the dummy, although there was a “good performance of the structure during the side impact test”.
Interestingly, the model tested obtained maximum protection for child occupants in the side impact test.
“These Latin NCAP results again show how some manufacturers in the region still do not make safety a priority,” said María Fernanda Rodríguez, Latin NCAP chairperson.
“As the voice of consumers, we have been asking governments and manufacturers to work with us and other organisations to democratise car safety, so that all countries in our region provide the same safety levels no matter the price of the car.
“Our citizens deserve the same vehicle safety as Europeans, Japanese, Australians and North Americans citizens receive,” said Rodríguez.
Watch the two crash-tests – first the BYD F0 and then the Fiat Palio – below (and check out similar tests from ASEAN NCAP and Global NCAP)…
