Every new car stripped of its safety rating from today: 2025 edition
12/31/2024 04:00 PM
Independent safety ratings for many popular new cars in Australia – including the Toyota Corolla, Hyundai i30 hatch, Audi Q3, Volvo XC40 and Suzuki Jimny – expired overnight.
Another round of safety ratings for new vehicles from the Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) have reached the end of the road.
ANCAP will no longer list a safety rating for 24 new vehicles sold in Australia and built after 31 December 2024, following the introduction of its six-year datestamp limit, making crash-test scores achieved in 2018 or earlier no longer valid.
Affected vehicles include the Hyundai i30 hatch, Kia Stonic and LDV T60 tested in 2017, along with the Toyota Corolla, Audi Q3, BMW X5, Volvo XC40, Mazda 6 and Suzuki Jimny tested in 2018.
The expired ratings only affect vehicles built on and after 1 January 2025, with cars manufactured before this date covered by their original score – despite no specification difference between one car built on 31 December 2024 and another made on 1 January 2025.
Now-discontinued models such as the Mazda CX-8 and Peugeot 508 also retain their original ratings achieved in 2018, as these cars left the market well before 31 December 2024.
Australia’s top-selling small SUV, the MG ZS, is unaffected as a new-generation 2024-tested four-star ANCAP model is now available – with the score currently for hybrid variants only – but some stock of the outgoing 2017-tested four-star rated ZS remains on dealer lots.
A vehicle tested in 2017 and 2018 was subject to far less stringent criteria than a model assessed under the latest and strictest 2023 to 2025 rules, and is unlikely to match its original rating if re-tested today unless the manufacturer has elected to update its safety performance.
The expired ratings could impact fleet purchases for some companies who have mandated a five-star ANCAP score, as the affected vehicles built on or after 1 January 2025 will be listed as 'untested' by ANCAP.
It is the third batch of vehicles to be stripped of their ANCAP safety scores, with some of Australia's top-sellers – the Mazda CX-5, Kia Picanto and Toyota LandCruiser 70 Series single-cab chassis – losing their ratings at the end of 2023.
The introduction of the six-year datestamp limit prevents manufacturers from advertising a five-star ANCAP safety score for a vehicle assessed a decade ago against a five-star rating achieved under newer and more stringent standards.
MORE: Every new car stripped of its safety rating from today – 2024 edition
"The presence of older ratings had the potential to create confusion among consumers, and inappropriate comparisons between vehicles that have been designed and rated against different protocols," ANCAP CEO Carla Hoorweg told Drive in 2022.
"Had the five-star ratings continued in perpetuity, that could act as a disincentive for manufacturers to update their vehicles."
ANCAP argues most vehicles will be replaced with a new generation or be heavily updated within this six-year period – such as the outgoing Hyundai Santa Fe tested in 2018 and the current model tested in 2024 – however, some cars have a longer lifespan than six years, particularly in the commercial sector.
For example, the Audi Q3, Jeep Compass, MG ZS and Nissan Leaf lost their safety ratings today but are due to be replaced in the next 12 months, while the current LDV T60, Suzuki Jimny and Peugeot Partner commercial vehicles will remain unchanged for the immediate future.
The next round of expired ratings in 12 months' time on 31 December 2025 are set to affect the 2019-tested Toyota HiLux, Toyota RAV4, Toyota HiAce, Mazda CX-30, Mazda 3, Hyundai Venue, BMW 3 Series, Audi Q7, and others listed below.
ANCAP first tested the current Toyota HiLux when it launched in 2015, but it was submitted for a re-test four years later in 2019 under newer criteria when autonomous emergency braking technology was introduced – allowing its safety score to last until the end of 2025, when a new-generation HiLux is due to emerge.
ANCAP scores expired after 31 December 2024:
- Hyundai i30 hatch – five stars, tested 2017, except i30 N
- Jeep Compass – five stars, tested 2017 (new model due 2025 or 2026)
- Kia Stonic – five stars, tested 2017
- LDV D90 – five stars, tested 2017
- LDV T60 – five stars, tested 2017, excluding eT60
- Audi A6 – five stars, tested 2018, including S6
- Audi A7 – five stars, tested 2018, excluding RS7
- Audi Q3 – five stars, tested 2018, except RS Q3 (new model due 2025)
- BMW X5 – five stars, tested 2018, 3.0-litre diesel and petrol variants only
- Genesis G70 – five stars, tested 2018
- Hyundai Nexo – five stars, tested 2018 (new model due 2025)
- Jaguar I-Pace – five stars, tested 2018
- Lexus ES – five stars, tested 2018
- Mazda 6 – five stars, tested 2018
- Mercedes-Benz A-Class – five stars, tested 2018
- Nissan Leaf – five stars, tested 2018, 40kWh variant only (new model due 2025)
- Toyota Corolla sedan – five stars, tested 2018
- Toyota Corolla hatch – five stars, tested 2018, excluding GR Corolla
- Volkswagen Touareg – five stars, tested 2018
- Volvo S60 – five stars, tested 2018
- Volvo V60 – five stars, tested 2018
- Volvo XC40 – five stars, tested 2018
- Peugeot Partner – four stars, tested 2018, excluding E-Partner
- Suzuki Jimny – three stars, tested 2018, three-door variants
ANCAP scores due to expire after 31 December 2025:
- Audi A1 – five stars, tested 2019
- Audi Q7 – five stars, tested 2019 (new model due 2025 or 2026)
- Audi Q8 – five stars, tested 2019, 3.0-litre diesel and petrol variants only
- Audi Q8 e-tron – five stars, tested 2019
- BMW 1 Series – five stars, tested 2019 (new model on sale)
- BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe – five stars, tested 2019 (new model imminent)
- BMW 3 Series – five stars, tested 2019, 2.0-litre variants only
- BMW 4 Series – five stars, tested 2019, 2.0-litre variants only
- Kia Cerato – five stars, tested 2019, Sport+ and GT variants (Kia K4 successor due 2025)
- Kia Seltos – five stars, tested 2019 (new model due 2025)
- Range Rover Evoque – five stars, tested 2019
- Lexus UX – five stars, tested 2019
- Mazda 3 – five stars, tested 2019
- Mazda CX-30 – five stars, tested 2019
- Mercedes-Benz CLA – five stars, tested 2019, except AMG CLA variants
- Mercedes-Benz EQA – five stars, tested 2019
- Mercedes-Benz EQB – five stars, tested 2019, EQB 250 only
- Mercedes-Benz G-Class – five stars, tested 2019, G63 only
- Mercedes-Benz GLA – five stars, tested 2019, except AMG GLA variants
- Mercedes-Benz GLB – five stars, tested 2019, GLB 200 and GLB 250 only
- Mercedes-Benz GLE – five stars, tested 2019, except AMG GLE variants
- Nissan Juke – five stars, tested 2019
- Peugeot 2008 – five stars, tested 2019
- Renault Arkana – five stars, tested 2019
- Renault Captur – five stars, tested 2019
- Skoda Kamiq – five stars, tested 2019
- Skoda Octavia – five stars, tested 2019
- Skoda Scala – five stars, tested 2019
- KGM SsangYong Korando – five stars, tested 2019
- Subaru Forester – five stars, tested 2019 (new model due 2025)
- Toyota Fortuner – five stars, tested 2019
- Toyota Granvia – five stars, tested 2019
- Toyota HiAce – five stars, tested 2019, van and crew van variants
- Toyota HiLux – five stars, tested 2019, except GR Sport (new model due 2025 or 2026)
- Toyota RAV4 – five stars, tested 2019 (new model due 2025 or 2026)
- Volkswagen T-Cross – five stars, tested 2019
- Hyundai Venue – four stars, tested 2019
- Kia Cerato – four stars, tested 2019, S and Sport variants (Kia K4 successor due 2025)
- Jeep Gladiator – three stars, tested 2019
- Jeep Wrangler – three stars, tested 2019
The post Every new car stripped of its safety rating from today: 2025 edition appeared first on Drive.
