VW boss hits out at ANCAP over Passat safety score expiring

Volkswagen's Passat will be without an ANCAP safety rating at the end of 2022, owing to new rules from the crash test authority.

As first revealed by Wheels last year, the Government-funded independent crash testing authority announced a six-year expiry date for its star ratings, meaning any vehicle which hasn't been re-tested since 2015 will have an 'untested' label applied at the end of the year – with the current generation Volkswagen Passat one of those in the firing line.

Last tested at launch in 2015, the Passat scored a five-star rating, despite safety equipment such as adaptive cruise control, rear traffic alert, front assist, lane assist and side assist being optional on the base variant – although each of these features became standard when the model was updated in 2020.

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Despite more safety tech including 360° proactive occupant protection, manoeuvre braking, travel assist, emergency assist and pedestrian monitoring being included in the 2020 update, ANCAP doesn't count the addition of this equipment as enough to warrant a reissuing of the Passat's five-star rating.

As a result, VW has hit out at ANCAP's decision to apply the six-year rule to the Passat, joining calls from those who question the relevance of the organisation.

"Just as ANCAP has elsewhere rightly pointed out the absence of safety technology, why would it fail to account for active and passive safety upgrades that bring a model to the forefront of occupant and bystander technology?," questioned Brand Director of Volkswagen's passenger vehicles operations in Australia, Michal Szaniecki.

"It is unclear if ANCAP withdraws ratings at a specified point merely for administrative convenience. It is clear that the Passat has embodied ANCAP's previously stated ideal that a model should become safer throughout its lifecycle."

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Last year, Volkswagen announced it would be dropping the Passat sedan from its line-up, with the Arteon fastback set to replace the four-door, leaving just the Passat wagon as the sole offering for the model.

Throughout 2021 a total of 1169 Passats were sold in Australia, making up just under three per cent of the 40,770 new Volkswagens registered over the 12-month period.

Speaking with Wheels last year after the changes were announced, ANCAP CEO Carla Hoorweg said the six-year system was to eliminate confusion for buyers, providing clarity so consumers can compare star ratings more accurately.

"What we will end up with is that all ratings will have a six-year validity, so then you’ll be able to see very clearly whether or not the rating is valid or expired," said Hoorweg.

“It gives you that ability to compare how long this rating has to run versus one that’s more recent – you know it’s going to be valid for longer, so you’ve got that five-star rated car with a valid rating that’s going to last until the end of the sixth-year life.

“I think that gives you a way of comparing, and going, ‘well, if I’m buying a vehicle that has five stars from 2017 versus a vehicle that has five stars from 2019, I know that the 2017 one is older and the rating is going to expire [sooner]’.”

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Elswhere in the industry, Kia Australia’s general manager of product planning, Roland Rivero, has previously supported ANCAP's changes, telling Wheels its ratings were informative to customers.

"For the average punter, safety in totality is a big consideration. Our research came back that it was number two in reasons for purchase,” said Rivero.

“We can all have our own opinion about ANCAP, but the customer voice, the market voice is probably the most important of the lot...it’s the market that’s dictating the terms, and as OEMs our job is to sell cars to the greater market, so it’s their voice we’re listening to. It does bring an influential aspect to the purchasing decision.”

Models last ANCAP tested in 2015