The European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) has awarded a five-star safety rating to the Nissan Leaf. This is the first time an all-electric car has been given the organisation’s maximum level of crash worthiness. The model went on sale in certain European markets from March.
The Leaf earned an 89% rating for adult safety, an 83% rating for child protection and an 84% rating for on-board safety assist systems. The Leaf has a pedestrian safety score of 65%, which Euro NCAP partly attributes to the car’s low nose and a comparative lack of hard points under the bonnet.
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“The Nissan LEAF proves that EVs can achieve the same safety levels as traditional cars. The standard is now set for the next generation of such cars on the European market,” said Euro NCAP Secretary General Michiel van Ratingen.
The Leaf underwent the same tests as combustion-engined cars. These include frontal impact, side impact, side pole impact and whiplash. There are 48 lithium-ion battery modules in this car and each withstood all impacts. Further, the automatic cut-off for the EV battery system worked as stated in the crash simulations.
The European crash rating result follows a recent nomination for the Leaf by the US’ Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) which named the car a Top Safety Pick.
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