Independent vehicle safety testing "not important", says major automaker's CEO

Key points

• The newly appointed boss of Fiat says Euro NCAP's stricter safety testing protocols, introduced this year, have confused car buyers. Arnaud Belloni said the industry has moved on and that few manufacturers take the body's ratings seriously.
• Euro NCAP's technical director, Richard Schram, disagreed, saying the industry has improved safety through the body's protocols. The 2026 protocols replace a tick-box approach with four safety stages and penalise distracting touchscreen controls.
• Euro NCAP acknowledges that safety features add cost, noting budget brand Dacia aims for three stars rather than five.