ANCAP boss wants to “smash” Tesla and other luxury brands

Australasian New Car Assessment Program’s boss has promised luxury brands he will “smash your cars”.

The independent vehicle safety authority chief executive James Goodwin has branded the behaviour of Tesla, Porsche and others as “disappointing” in holding out on allowing their cars to be crash tested by ANCAP or Euro NCAP.

Goodwin told motoring.com.au he has a number of luxury brands on his hit-list.

While about 95% of the growing new-vehicle fleet in Australia has been tested by ANCAP, there are still a few that won’t allow it, and Goodwin argues it’s a moral imperative for a car-maker to respect customers and crash test its cars.

“We’re talking about a range of brands,” he says.

“They’re not necessarily the cheaper brands; where’s Tesla on this? Where’s Porsche on this?”

Goodwin singles out a “handful” of car brands in Australia that choose not to supply vehicles and data for crash testing. He believes it’s disingenuous to avoid ANCAP or Euro NCAP testing.

He says there are still car brands that “…don’t necessarily support the ANCAP program by even conducting testing, let alone using an ANCAP logo”.

“I’ve got an email in front of me from a major luxury brand saying that they’re not in favour of promoting [ANCAP] star ratings and so are not going to assist us with information,” he told motoring.com.au.

“That’s an appalling attitude. It’s not your choice. If you don’t want to help us by supplying vehicles, well, what’s the option now?

“It’s disappointing but it’s worse than that. It’s a lack of respect for their customers and a lack of respect for the community,” Goodwin says.

“Sending me a note like that means that I will find the money and I will smash your cars.”

Tesla gained a five-star NCAP safety rating for its Model S in 2014, but no other vehicles – including the Tesla Model X family SUV – have been tested by ANCAP or Euro NCAP.

Porsche had only two models tested according to the Euro NCAP database, the Cayenne SUV in 2017 (five stars) and Macan SUV in 2014 (five stars).

ANCAP signalled its intention to test more sports cars in the wake of the three-star result for the Ford Mustang.

Both Porsche and Tesla were contacted for comment but had yet to respond, motoring.com.au says.

Meanwhile, ANCAP is also urging the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to issue mandatory guidelines to the automotive industry to clarify how crash test results can be promoted.

It’s concerned new-vehicle buyers may be misled by brands and dealers that promote maximum five-star safety ratings without specifying whether they are quoting current or outdated results, motoring.com.au says.

A windshield sticker would show a vehicle’s safety star rating.

ANCAP expects brands to specify what year a vehicle’s rating is achieved because protocols have got progressively tougher in recent years.