ANCAP has issued a 5-star safety rating for the new Skoda Fabia, and has praised Skoda for the standard it has set in providing autonomous emergency braking (AEB) as a standard inclusion across the Fabia range.
At the same time the Jeep Grand Cherokee and Holden Astra also received 5-star ratings..
AEB is an advanced driver assistance technology which can prevent or minimise the effects of a crash - the benefits of which are already proven.
"AEB systems have shown to reduce rear-end crashes by more than 50 percent,” says ANCAP CEO Nicholas Clarke. “The introduction of more-advanced AEB systems which work at a range of speeds, and which are able to detect other obstacles such as pedestrians, cyclists and animals, will contribute to a further reduction in the number and severity of road crashes.
"Now is the time to accelerate the introduction of this important technology. ANCAP is buoyed by the decision by Skoda to provide AEB as standard across all Fabia variants and we are continuing our call for all manufacturers to do the same. Sophisticated vehicle safety technologies such as AEB will lead the way in reducing road trauma at an unprecedented rate."
AEB systems use camera and/or sensor technology to detect the speed and distance of objects in the vehicle's path, and automatically brake if the driver does not respond in order to avoid or minimise the severity of a crash.
He added that all V6 variants of the Jeep Grand Cherokee now have 5-star status and applies to all V6 variants built from March 2013 following upgrades to the Grand Cherokee's structure and seat design.
Astra models (GTC, GTC Sport and VXR) re-introduced under the Holden badge also continue to hold a 5-star ANCAP safety rating.
