On the eve of Global NCAP and Latin NCAP’s Car to Car crash test, Nissan announced that they will take the Zero Star Tsuru out of production in Mexico next May.“This is a long overdue decision to cease production of a car that is fundamentally unsafe," David Ward, Global NCAP Secretary General said. "Three years ago our partner Latin NCAP crash tested the car and revealed its Zero Star rating. It has taken Nissan too long to recognize that selling sub-standard cars is unacceptable. At last they have responded to the demands of Latin NCAP and Mexican consumers to withdraw the Tsuru from the market."
Car to Car Crash Test
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), Global NCAP and Latin NCAP hosted a Car to Car crash at the IIHS headquarters in Virginia. (Watch the video uploaded to Youtube by IIHS Youtube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85OysZ_4lp0)
The test was conducted between the 2016 Nissan Versa, sold in the United States, and the 2015 Nissan Tsuru, sold in Mexico. Both cars are manufactured in Mexico and have been previously tested by the IIHS and Latin NCAP respectively, the Versa obtained a performance of Good (equivalent to 5 Stars) and the Tsuru was rated Zero Stars.
After the test which involved a 50 percent overlap and a combined closing speed of 80mph (129 km/h), the results graphically highlighted the urgent need for the Nissan Tsuru to be taken out of production.
A driver in the Tsuru would have had high probability of suffering life-threatening injuries, it is likely that the crash would have been fatal, there were no airbags, and the main structures all failed, fatally compromising the survival space.
“Our first ever Car to Car test clearly shows the importance of minimum crash test regulations," Ward of Global NCAP said. "Mexico doesn’t yet apply them and the US has had them for decades. The lack of standards can result in the sale of unsafe cars like the Nissan Tsuru. Across Latin America all countries should apply UN or equivalent safety standards to all new passenger cars, so that there is no future for Zero Star Cars.”
Report reveals 40,000 lives could be save with regulation
A report commissioned by Global NCAP and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) reveals that 40,000 Latin American lives could be saved and 400,000 serious injuries prevented by 2030, if UN vehicle safety regulations were applied by four key countries in the region.
The UK Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) conducted the independent study and its findings are closely aligned with the policy recommendations adopted by the United Nations and consistent with Global NCAP’s recommended ‘Road Map 2020 for Safer Cars’.
The aim of the study was to predict how many car user deaths and injuries could be prevented in four Latin American countries: Argentina, Chile, Mexico and Brazil, by establishing minimum car safety regulations and consumer testing. The major regulations that were considered were United Nations (UN) Regulations No. 14, 16 (seat belts and anchorages), 94 (occupant protection in frontal collision) and 95 (occupant protection in side or lateral collisions).
The study concludes that up to 40,000 car occupant fatalities and 400,000 serious injuries could be prevented between 2016 and 2030, if minimum vehicle safety standards were applied. Economic assessment suggests that these casualty reductions could save up to 143 billion US dollars over the period 2016 to 2030.
