The GAC Aion UT snags a five-star rating in the Euro NCAP

Here’s another small Chinese EV that bucks the trend of being unsafe: the GAC Aion UT, which was launched in the Philippines a few months ago, has just earned a five-star Euro New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) rating. This follows the Geely EX2 and its five-star ANCAP rating, as one of the latest Chinese cars to get a high rating.

Following the same four aspects as the new safety rating standards used by the ANCAP, the GAC Aion UT scores 66% in Safe Driving, 74% in Crash Avoidance, 91% in Crash Protection, and 88% in Post-Crash Safety.

For Safe Driving, the vehicle’s driver monitoring systems and seatbelt detection worked well, with the latter identifying passengers who are “out of position” from the usual sitting position. It also includes a child presence detection system, but some points were taken off for the vehicle’s reliance on touch controls for basic controls, and the speed limit recognition system was not as accurate as other cars.

For the Crash Avoidance systems, it pretty much has a complete suite of crash avoidance systems, including an autonomous emergency braking system, lane keep assist, and a cyclist detection system that prevents doors from being opened when a cyclist is approaching from behind.

Crash protection, according to the Euro NCAP, was good for all frontal impacts; however, chest protection for small female drivers is considered marginal, but the overall rating for the crash structure from the front and side was considered good overall, especially thanks to a central airbag. However, the struck pedestrian/cyclist protection is considered to be poor and weak across many aspects, except for the windscreen, which was good.

As for post-crash safety, the Aion UT comes complete with rescue sheets and rescue guides, alongside automatic hazard light activation during an impact. Thermal management and battery cut-off systems are implemented, and while emergency calling is available, it’s not available in all countries covered by the Euro NCAP.

If anything, improvements like these are great regardless of which brand they come from, and it also shows the uplifting of the industry’s safety standards as a whole—one step in making the roads a safer place for everyone.

^{Photos from Euro NCAP}