The compact Geely EX2 has secured a five-star ANCAP safety rating, demonstrating that an affordable electric vehicle can achieve strong safety performance across crash protection, crash avoidance and driver assistance assessments.
The EX2 is one of the first models assessed under ANCAP’s new Stages of Safety criteria, introduced in 2026 to account for advances in vehicle technology and the changing safety risks faced by occupants and other road users.
Strong performance in ‘Safe Driving’
The EX2 achieved 79 per cent in the Safe Driving assessment, with its occupant and driver monitoring systems among the areas that performed particularly well.
Its occupant monitoring system can identify incorrect seatbelt use, including situations where a driver uses only the lap portion of the belt. The system can also adjust restraints according to the stature of front-seat occupants.
The driver monitoring system also performed strongly when detecting common forms of driver distraction.
Effective crash avoidance
The EX2 delivered performed well in the Crash Avoidance assessment, with its autonomous emergency braking and lane support systems performing well across most of the scenarios tested by ANCAP.
Its lane support system was particularly effective in helping prevent collisions involving oncoming and overtaking vehicles and motorcycles.
However, some of the newer low-speed scenarios introduced under ANCAP’s updated testing regime proved more challenging.
These included:
- Turning across the path of another vehicle or motorcycle
- Reversing towards a pedestrian
- Pedal misapplication scenarios
The results highlight the increasing breadth of situations covered by ANCAP’s assessment criteria as advanced driver assistance systems become more widespread.
Good occupant protection
The EX2 also provided generally good protection in frontal and side-impact crash tests.
An elevated risk of driver leg injury was identified in the frontal offset test, with ANCAP encouraging Geely to identify improvements for future model upgrades.
The vehicle performed particularly well in terms of crash compatibility, which considers the potential consequences of a crash for occupants of another vehicle.
According to ANCAP, the EX2’s smaller size and available frontal crush space, resulting from the absence of a traditional internal combustion engine, are likely to have contributed to this result.
Battery safety and post-crash performance
The electric EX2 demonstrated effective battery voltage isolation and management of post-crash fire risks in the Post-Crash assessment.
Following crash impacts, the vehicle’s doors, seatbelt buckles and tailgate remained operable.
The EX2 is also equipped with eCall hardware from launch. Geely is expected to activate the eCall functionality for existing and newly purchased vehicles within 12 months, providing the capability to automatically notify emergency responders of a crash, including its location and severity.
The EX2 joins the Geely EX5 and Starray EM-i as the third model in Geely’s range to receive an ANCAP safety rating.
Affordable EVs raise the safety bar
The EX2 was assessed alongside the Leapmotor B05, with both models priced below $40,000 and receiving five-star ratings under ANCAP’s new criteria.
ANCAP Chief Executive Officer Carla Hoorweg said the results demonstrated that affordability did not necessarily require a compromise on vehicle safety.
“These results show that choosing a more affordable electric vehicle doesn’t have to mean compromising on safety,” Hoorweg said.
“The Leapmotor B05 and Geely EX2 have got the fundamentals right, delivering good crash protection, effective crash avoidance technology and important safety features as standard.”
She said the two models had established a strong early benchmark under the updated assessment criteria.
“The B05 and EX2 are among the first models assessed against our new criteria, setting a strong early standard for five-star safety.”
“With more brands and models entering the Australian and New Zealand markets, safety is another area where manufacturers need to compete. These results show buyers that newer and lesser-known brands can deliver five-star safety at an affordable price.”
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