The Renault Zoe, an electric car made by Renault, gets a safety rating of 0 in the Euro NCAP version. This achievement is a painful warning for the famous French car company. Because at the same time Euro NCAP also gave a safety rating of 1 for their other electric car, Dacia Spring.
It is known that the Dacia Spring is an electric car that uses the Renault Kwid platform. Renault only changed the conventional engine in the Renault Kwid with an electric motor when making the Dacia Spring.
“Renault was previously synonymous with safety. The poor performance at Renault Zoe and Dacia Spring shows that the transition from a conventional car company to an electric car company has resulted in low quality standards for safety,” said Euro NCAP Secretary General Michiel van Ratingen.
Euro NCAP mentions one of the factors that earned the Renault Zoe a 0 rating is the very low function of the side airbags. According to them, the quality of the side airbags is actually very bad compared to the side airbags in the previous Renault Zoe conventional car.
This assessment is indeed very surprising considering that this year until October, the Renault Zoe is the third best-selling electric car after the Tesla Model 3 and Volkswagen ID.3 in the European region. The rating given by Euro NCAP did not stop the car from being sold. It's just that Europeans always pay attention to the Euro NCAP assessment before deciding to buy a car.
The same criticism is not only made by Euro NCAP. British research firm Thatcham Research regrets what happened to the Renault Zoe at this time. Because the car was once known as a safe car, competitive price and liked by many people. In 2013 the car even got a 5 Euro NCAP rating.
“It is very sad to see the Renault Zoe get a rating of 0. It is no different from Hero to Zero,” said Matthew Avery, Tatcham Research's Chief Strategy Research Officer.
Responding to the achievement of the Euro NCAP, Renault in an official statement said that the Renault Zoe is a safe car. The car was made to meet all aspects and safety standards required by regulations. According to them the safety standards required for a car are constantly evolving and getting stricter in all parts of the car.
“Renault always strives to improve safety standards in accordance with existing regulations where the car is sold,” wrote Renault's official statement.
Source:Reuters
