Euro NCAP has introduced its advanced 2026 vehicle safety assessment protocols, raising the standard for consumer protection, placing greater emphasis on intuitive and effective driver assistance systems, robust crash avoidance, occupant protection for a diverse population and post-crash safety and care. Both the new BMW iX3 and the Zeekr 7GT have earned Euro NCAP’s highest five-star safety score under the new protocols, becoming the first vehicles to achieve this top rating. The new protocols categorize testing around four Stages of Safety. Safe Driving assesses how well the vehicle supports the driver and passengers to provide a safer driving experience; Crash Avoidance evaluates how effectively the vehicle identifies hazards and helps prevent or reduce the severity of a crash; Crash Protection looks at how well the vehicle’s structure, airbags and restraints protect occupants and other road users during a collision; and Post Crash examines whether the vehicle’s design and onboard systems can assist emergency responders in treating occupants after a crash. BMW iX3 The Neue Klasse BMW iX3 50 xDrive delivered an outstanding performance across all stages of the assessment and may be BMW’s safest car to date, said Euro NCAP. In Safe Driving, the iX3 was praised for its dedicated physical controls for the indicators, hazard lights, horn, headlights and gear selectors, scoring 73%. Its driver monitoring proved effective at detecting driver fatigue and impairment, though it demonstrated lower sensitivity toward short-term visual distraction. During a 2,000km real-world road trial across Italy, France, Germany and Austria, its speed limit assist function identified signage changes correctly in 86% of instances, covering 97% of the driven distance. According to Euro NCAP, the vehicle’s Crash Avoidance technologies performed well, with its autonomous emergency braking system exceeding the new requirements and showing good mitigation across vehicle-to-vehicle, junction-turning and motorcycle collision scenarios. Euro NCAP also