Industry News
Geely Panda Becomes First Chinese Minicar to Score Five Stars in C-NCAP Crash Test
By
Jan 14, 2010, 10:54

Much of the fear out there about Volvo's near-finalized sale to Geely revolves around the terrible safety reputation Chinese cars have gained ever since everyone saw the Brilliance B6 crinkle up like a pop can in a European test a few years back. Well, news from Geely today is indicating that it's the Volvo of Chinese cars, even if that's like saying that Sweden is the most tropical of all Scandinavian countries. We need to study up on how stringent China's C-NCAP crash test standards are, but Geely has announced that its Panda minicar is the first Chinese vehicle to achieve a five-star rating in the tests. As such, it has earned the title of "safest minicar in China."

In 2008, Geely set a goal of producing the first four-star family car in China, and once that was achieved the standard was set that every Geely must achieve at least a four-star rating before being sold. This five-star rating for the Panda goes above and beyond that goal. Yes, it appears that while China is providing US buyers other reasons--questionable human rights standards being at the top--to worry about Volvo being owned by Geely, the Chinese brand is catching up quickly when it comes to safety technology. Still, we aren't seeing any side curtain airbags popping out of that Panda in the pictures, indicating there is still room for the company to improve.

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