ASEAN NCAP downgrades the Malaysian Geely Okavango (Proton X90) to a 1-star rating
It looks like Malaysian automaker Proton has made a huge mistake when it gave its Geely Okavango-based X90 an update for the 2026 model year. The New Car Assessment Program for Southeast Asian Countries (ASEAN NCAP) has just downgraded its safety rating from a perfect five-stars to a one-star rating.
The Proton X90 originally earned a five-star safety rating under the ASEAN NCAP 2021-2025 protocol with an overall score of 83.79 points back in 2023. The reason for the downgrade? The removal of the availability of a suite of advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) in the 2026 update.
The Malaysian automaker did away with offering features such as autonomous emergency braking (AEB), forward collision warning (FCW), lane departure warning (LDW), lane keep assist (LKA), rear cross traffic alert (RCTA), and blind spot detection from the model’s featurelist.
This caused the Safety Assist (SA) score to drop to four stars, and the Motorcyclist Safety (MS) score, which heavily relies on blind spot detection, to one star, consequently affecting the model’s overall rating. The ASEAN NCAP says that a vehicle’s safety rating is restricted if it performs poorly in any single category.
But is the Geely Okavango also affected by this safety rating downgrade?
Well, the Philippine-spec Geely Okavango was never offered with an ADAS suite ever since it was launched locally in 2020. Last year, it received an update which trimmed the lineup to just one variant, and still without any available advanced safety systems.
It is however good to note that the Geely Okavango has not yet been separately tested by the ASEAN NCAP, meaning things could still change for the Chinese three-row crossover.
“We deeply regret Proton’s decision to remove life-saving ADAS technologies from the new facelift model. To protect consumers and maintain the integrity of safety standards, we have no choice but to revoke the 2023 5-Star rating. This serves as a reminder to all manufacturers: safety is not a trade-off. Do not sacrifice proven safety technology for ‘face-value’ luxuries like infotainment systems or leather upholstery,” said Malaysia Institute of Road Safety Research (MIROS) Director General Assoc. Prof. Ir. Ts. Dr. Siti Zaharah binti Ishak.
What are your thoughts on this safety-related development?
