China: C-NCAP plans to revise new car assessment program

Shanghai September 14 (Gasgoo.com) C-NCAP, the only body responsible for car crash tests in China, is planning to revise its crash and safety assessment program. The revised program will be using the same methods assessing vehicle safety performance under impact, but some new items will be added increasing the difficulty, The Beijing News reported Tuesday.

The new program will become public in 2012 and be put into action in 2013. Changes will be made in six respects, said Liu Yuguang, deputy chief engineer of the National Passenger Car Quality Supervision & Inspection Center.

The three items in the current program, including frontal impact test against rigid barrier with 100% overlapping, frontal impact test against deformable barrier with 40% overlapping and side impact test against mobile deformable barrier, will remain in the new program.

Whipping test will be added to assess performance of head restraint in protecting occupants' necks under impact. Moreover, a scoring system for active safety devices, a star rating system for pedestrian protection, an independent child seat rating system and other systems will be added also.