The European road safety organization Euro NCAP has published the results of its latest assisted driving tests, with Tesla being one of the three automakers receiving a ‘Moderate’ rating.
According to Carscoops, Euro NCAP’s latest report on assisted driving systems rated the Tesla Model S as ‘Moderate’ in safety, placing it alongside the Volvo EX30 as the lowest-rated among tested vehicles. The Model S scored only 30% in Assistance Competence, falling behind even smaller, more budget-friendly electric vehicles in the category.
Euro NCAP’s Assisted Driving Grading program is designed to assess how effectively and responsibly automakers integrate partially automated features into the vehicles. The evaluation focuses on two critical aspects: Assistance Competence, which examines how well the system interacts with the driver, and Safety Backup, which measures the vehicle’s ability to manage real-time safety interventions like collision avoidance.
Tesla’s Model S Autopilot system achieved an impressive 94% in Safety Backup, but its low Assistance Competence score lowered the overall rating. Euro NCAP criticized Tesla’s use of the ‘Autopilot’ branding and promotional language, arguing that it exaggerates the system’s capabilities and may lead drivers to mistakenly believe it is more autonomous than it is.
Testers also observed another issue with the Model S steering system—it resists driver override attempts, and if the driver takes control, the system automatically shuts off.
The Pilot Assist system on the Volvo EX30 received a 72% rating for Safety Backup and 62% for Assistance Competence. One key issue affecting its score is the centrally mounted touchscreen, which forces drivers to look away from the road to check system alerts. Additionally, testers found that the driving assistance system failed to disengage, even after multiple hands-off warnings.
The MG ZS was also rated Moderate, joining the ranks of Model S and Volvo EX30.
Meanwhile, the Porsche Macan, Kia EV3, Renault 5, and Toyota bZ4X earned a ‘Very Good’ rating, while the Mazda CX-80 and XPeng G9 were classified as ‘Good.’ Leading the pack was the Macan, which achieved an impressive 85% in Assistance Competence and 92% in Safety Backup, making it the overall top scorer in this round of evaluations.
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