Home Latest News Škoda Prioritises Safety On Every Vehicle

Škoda Prioritises Safety On Every Vehicle

427
0

Ensuring the maximum possible safety of its vehicles is a top priority for ŠKODA AUTO and is also a long-standing tradition: A ŠKODA 100 L was the first documented vehicle to undergo crash testing 50 years ago in Prague-Ruzyně in what was then Czechoslovakia. Today, ŠKODA operates a state-of-the-art crash test facility at its Úhelnice-based Polygon Test Centre, which was comprehensively expanded in 2020 and even won the Crash Laboratory of the Year 2020 from the Automotive Testing Technology International trade journal. The results from the Euro NCAP reference test and the Global NCAP test for crash safety attest to the Czech car manufacturer’s impressive track record; all 15 new ŠKODA models introduced since 2008 have achieved the highest five-star rating. In 2021, the current FABIA and ENYAQ iV were named the safest vehicles in their respective classes.

In the last test year 2021, the ŠKODA FABIA and ENYAQ iV were the safest vehicles in their respective classes in the Euro NCAP test. The European New Car Assessment Programme is a multi-agency programme founded in 1997 by transport ministries, automobile clubs, insurance associations and research institutes from eight European countries. The consortium performs crash tests on current vehicles and evaluates their active and passive safety as well as rescue and recovery safety. The most important aspect of the test process is the frontal impact test, which ŠKODA AUTO prepares for intensively using comprehensive simulations. Preliminary clay models of new vehicles are scanned and various points, curves and surfaces are applied to them on the computer, resulting in the first digital designs of the vehicle.

Once the design is finalised, the entire vehicle is constructed as a computer model. Using simulations, all load conditions can be tested virtually and relevant vehicle characteristics such as rigidity, strength, crash behaviour or even durability and acoustics can be optimised. Some 1,000 computer simulations precede the first real crash test. Around ten real crash tests are carried out in-house as a vehicle is being developed. Tests are also performed on individual body parts, such as the bonnet and front bumper. There are approximately 140 virtual simulations before each component is tested.

ŠKODA models are also recognised as the safest vehicles in their class outside Europe. The Global NCAP has awarded the ŠKODA KUSHAQ and VW Tiguan models a 5-star rating, declaring them among the safest family vehicles for adult and child safety. ŠKODA has also achieved excellent results in the ANCAP tests for Australia and New Zealand; the FABIA, KAMIQ, OCTAVIA, SCALA, KAROQ and KODIAQ models all received five stars.