Renault Kwid, GWM Steed 5 bakkie and Haval H1 raise serious safety concerns

Global NCAP and the Automobile Association of South Africa (AA) launch the fourth round of #SaferCarsForAfrica crash test results today (December 3rd) supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies and the FIA Foundation.

The three models tested, the Steed 5 pick up from Great Wall, the Haval H1 five-door SUV and the Kwid five-door compact from Renault, all gave serious cause for concern with poor levels of adult and child protection.

Alarmingly the zero-rated Great Wall Steed 5 demonstrated a high probability of life-threatening injury.

Alejandro Furas, Global NCAP Secretary-General said, “Another zero star-rated ‘Bakkie’ gives us very serious cause for concern in our latest crash test results for Africa. The potential for life-threatening injury in the Steed 5 follows the zero-star performance of the Nissan Hardbody pick up. The contrast between the marketing claims for such vehicles and the reality of their poor safety performance could not be starker.”

David Ward, Towards Zero Foundation President said, “This is a worrying set of results for the safety of both adult and child occupants in these popular African cars. Our second #SaferCarsforAfrica zero-rating in the ‘Bakkie” category, with the high probability of life-threatening injury, should be ringing alarm bells for any consumer considering the purchase of a Steed 5 pick up.

“From our global perspective, with successful crash test programmes in India and Latin America, we can track the varying safety equipment specifications for cars manufactured in one market and sell in others. It’s therefore surprising to note that the Renault Kwid developed for Latin America, based on the original Indian version, has a better adult and child occupant protection performance includes standard ISOFIX anchorages as well as dual front and side airbags.”

Willem Groenewald, AA South Africa CEO said, “I concur with both Ale and David that these results are worrisome and cause for concern.

Since the #SaferCarsforAfrica programme’s first results were launched in 2017 we’ve been calling for an improvement in the safety standards set by the government.

These results again confirm the urgent need for this to happen; we simply cannot have unsafe cars on our roads anymore.

“We have spoken to the National Regulator for Compulsory Standards about standards and although the evidence is clear, we are eager to see movement in this regard. Action is needed, and needed now because it’s about protecting South African citizens.”

Source: AA