The latest market analysis by independent vehicle safety authority, ANCAP, has revealed a ten-fold increase in the standard fitment of autonomous emergency braking (AEB) in just over two years.
ANCAP has been tracking the availability status and market penetration of AEB across the Australian light vehicle market since December 2015 when just 3 per cent of new vehicles sold offered the autonomous braking feature as standard. Today, that figure has increased to 31 per cent.
“This is an encouraging result for consumers, and the vehicle brands leading the charge should be commended,” ANCAP Chief Executive, James Goodwin said.
“Over the past few years we have been educating the community of the benefits of this technology, and in parallel, pushing vehicle brands to include AEB as standard across model ranges and price points.”
“To see one-third of all popular selling models now offer this driver assistance technology as standard, we’ve moved some way closer to achieving a reduction in crash incidence and severity – but there is still a long way to go,” Mr Goodwin added.
“This year we have adopted significant changes to our rating system to encourage the standard offering of AEB across the market, and we’re confident this will see a further acceleration in AEB availability,” Mr Goodwin said.
Of the top 100 selling vehicles available at March 2018, 37 models representing 31 per cent of the market offered AEB as standard. 35 models, representing 29 per cent of the market did not offer AEB in any form.
AEB availability by jurisdiction was also analysed with the ACT and Victoria holding the greatest market share of vehicles with AEB standard (34 per cent). Tasmania held the smallest standard share at 24 per cent. Market share by remaining jurisdictions stood at 27 per cent for WA and Queensland, 28 per cent for NT, 31 per cent for SA and 33 per cent for NSW.
“These figures are positive, though if we look at Western Australia, there is room for improvement,” WA’s Acting Road Safety Commissioner, Mr Iain Cameron said.
“We’d encourage all those looking to purchase a new car to choose one with this potentially life-saving technology to help drive down road trauma,” Mr Cameron added.
