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Latin NCAP Also Gives Zero Ratings to Ford Ka and Hyundai HB20 Last Year, Downgrades Duster’s Rating to Zero, the Beloved Car in Brazil from the French Multinational Renault
The Renault Nissan multinational is under scrutiny from Procon-SP after the Renault Duster was rated zero in an impact test conducted by Latin NCAP, where the vehicle rolled over and leaked fuel in the frontal collision. The result was announced last Friday (27) by the independent road safety institute for markets in Latin America and the Caribbean, which last year also rated the Ford Ka and Hyundai HB20 as zero.
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Duster Receives Zero Rating After Rolling Over and Leaking Fuel in Latin NCAP Evaluation
Following the disastrous result, the consumer protection agency linked to the Government of São Paulo is demanding clarifications from Renault regarding the poor performance of the Duster, which in the evaluation conducted by Latin NCAP, the entry-level Duster vehicle from the French multinational, equipped with two mandatory front airbags and electronic stability control, received a zero rating and rolled over while leaking fuel in the frontal crash, conducted against a fixed barrier at 64 km/h.
And it didn’t stop there; the Duster’s door opened during the side impact, posing “serious risk of passenger ejection,” while the structure of the SUV was deemed “unstable” – all according to the institute. Upon announcing the result, Latin NCAP recommended that Renault issue a recall for the model. Last Friday, the company emphasized that the SUV “strictly complies with regulations” for the Brazilian market.
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Carlos César Marera, director of Procon-SP, is responsible for the investigation process. Marera states that the agency is examining whether the manufacturer violated Article 10 of Federal Law 8.078/90, which establishes the Consumer Protection Code. This article states that “the supplier may not put on the market any product or service that it knows or should know presents a high degree of harmfulness or danger to health or safety.”
Ford Ka and Hyundai HB20 Also Received Zero Ratings Last Year
Renault, Marera adds, will have seven days to provide the requested explanations, counted from the receipt of the notification, which is expected to occur this week.
“If the irregularity is proven, the supplier will be fined with amounts estimated according to its respective revenue. Currently, the penalties from Procon-SP range from R$ 733.34 to R$ 10,981,829.35,” states the director of inspection.
It is worth noting that the zero rating assigned to the Duster was under stricter criteria adopted by Latin NCAP starting in 2020 – the same ones that also gave zero ratings to Ford Ka and Hyundai HB20 last year, after both received better evaluations following the previous protocol.
The current generation of the Duster was even evaluated by the institute in 2019, before its respective launch in Brazil, receiving 4 stars for adults and 3 for children. According to Renault, the car at that time was identical in equipment and construction to the one now rated zero.
Renault’s Clarification Specifically Regarding the Impact Test
The Duster vehicle, whose test was released in August 2021, is exactly the same in terms of active and passive safety features compared to the vehicle that obtained four stars for adult protection and three stars for child protection in a test conducted by the same institution in 2019.
In 2020, the Latin NCAP changed its testing protocols and, as a result, the outcomes are different.
It is important to emphasize that the Renault Duster strictly complies with the regulations in the countries where it is marketed, exceeding them in some aspects. The model includes various safety features such as ESP, blind spot alert, Multiview camera, hill start assist, among others, which are not mandatory by law.
Renault believes that, just as there has been significant progress in vehicle safety in recent years, the topic will continue to evolve, and Renault will continue to offer products with a high level of safety.
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