ANCAP Publishes 2022 Commercial Van Safety Comparison Ratings

ANCAP Publishes 2022 Commercial Van Safety Comparison Ratings

ANCAP Safety has released its second round of comparative results evaluating the availability and performance of active safety systems across a range of commercial vans.

According to ANCAP, the results follow the inaugural van comparison results published in December 2020 and include updated assessments of the Mercedes-Benz Vito and Iveco Daily, acknowledging specification upgrades introduced since the initial comparison. The report also includes analysis of the LDV Deliver 9 and new Hyundai Staria-Load – providing an up-to-date summary of collision avoidance specification and capability for 16 vans.

ANCAP said the Staria-Load set a new benchmark for availability and performance of ADAS across the van market, performing well in all areas and earning the first Platinum level of crash avoidance with a score of 90 per cent. Toward the other end of the scale, the “modest active safety technology” fitted to the Deliver 9 resulted in a Bronze score of 27 per cent.

The updated Vito – from January 2021 – joined the Toyota HiAce and Ford Transit in achieving Gold level crash avoidance performance. ANCAP said the improved specification elevated the Vito’s score from 23 per cent (Bronze) to 61 per cent (Gold) through the standard inclusion of car-, pedestrian- and cyclist-detecting autonomous emergency braking, in addition to lane departure warning and blind spot monitoring systems.

The Iveco Daily, from February 2021, also gained autonomous emergency braking (car-to-car), a driver monitoring system, and seat belt reminders for the driver and passenger as standard, increasing its score from six per cent (Not Recommended) to 24 per cent (Bronze).

Five vans retained Silver rankings, four achieved Bronze and three remain Not Recommended due to a lack of active safety systems.

“This analysis provides added value to fleet and commercial van operators as it extends beyond ANCAP’s traditional star rating programme to shine a light on the active safety performance of an important segment,” said ANCAP Chief Executive Officer Carla Hoorweg.

“Vans are a workplace. Their increased on-road exposure and frequent use in built-up urban areas mean they interact with a large number of other vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists. It is essential that fleet and van operators are aware of the crash avoidance capabilities and active safety features fitted to their vehicles.

“The information provided in this latest comparison report highlights the differences in safety specification and the varying levels of active safety performance across van models. It is encouraging to see the full suite of active safety features now standard in a number of vans, and we encourage brands to continue updating the safety specification of their vans as they would with passenger vehicles,” Hoorweg said.