Since 2022, every Chinese car submitted to Euro NCAP has received five stars, except for two. The Nio Firefly, tested under the tougher 2025 protocol, holds the highest adult occupant protection score in Euro NCAP history at 96%. In 2024, the Zeekr X won Best in Class in the Small Family Car category. The Deepal S07 posted the highest adult occupant score of any car tested in 2024 at 95%, beating every European and Japanese model that year. Chinese cars were a safety punchline in 2007. By the data, they are now among the safest cars sold anywhere in the world.
One important caveat before the table: Euro NCAP tests the European-specification version of each car, which often differs meaningfully from the Chinese domestic version. Multiple Chinese brand representatives have confirmed their export models include structural and safety system upgrades not present on home-market cars. A five-star Euro NCAP result tells you about the car sold in Europe. It does not automatically apply to the same model sold in China, Southeast Asia or Australia.
Every Chinese Brand Tested — Ranked by Adult Occupant Score
All Chinese-brand Euro NCAP results, 2013–2025, ranked by adult occupant protection %
★★★★★ = Five stars ★★★★☆ = Four stars AO = Adult Occupant CO = Child Occupant VRU = Vulnerable Road Users SA = Safety Assist
| Model | Brand | Year | Stars | AO % | CO % | VRU % | SA % | Note |
| Firefly | Nio | 2025 | ★★★★★ | 96% | — | — | — | All-time record AO |
| B10 | Leapmotor | 2025 | ★★★★★ | 93% | 93% | — | 85% | Highest 2025 batch |
| EHS7 | Hongqi | 2025 | ★★★★★ | 93% | — | — | — | — |
| Seal 6 | BYD | 2025 | ★★★★★ | — | — | — | — | 5★ confirmed |
| Smart #5 | Smart (Geely) | 2025 | ★★★★★ | — | — | — | — | 5★ confirmed |
| S07 | Deepal | 2024 | ★★★★★ | 95% | 87% | 74% | 77% | Highest AO in 2024 |
| Zeekr X | Zeekr | 2024 | ★★★★★ | 96%* | — | — | — | Best in Class 2024 |
| Zeekr 001 | Zeekr | 2024 | ★★★★★ | 95%* | — | — | — | 5★ — executive class |
| C10 | Leapmotor | 2024 | ★★★★★ | 89% | 85% | — | — | — |
| eTERRON 9 (pickup) | Maxus | 2024 | ★★★★★ | — | — | — | — | First EV pickup tested |
| ZS Hybrid | MG | 2024 | ★★★★☆ | 75% | 82% | 73% | 76% | Only 4★ since 2022 |
| ET5 | Nio | 2023 | ★★★★★ | 96% | 85% | 83% | 81% | Top scorer 2023 |
| Smart #3 | Smart (Geely) | 2023 | ★★★★★ | 90% | 86% | 84% | 85% | Top SA score 2023 |
| Seal-U (Song Plus) | BYD | 2023 | ★★★★★ | 88% | 87% | 79% | 75% | — |
| Tang | BYD | 2023 | ★★★★★ | 87% | 87% | 80% | 73% | Best CO (tied) |
| G9 | Xpeng | 2023 | ★★★★★ | 87% | 85% | 79% | 77% | — |
| P7 | Xpeng | 2023 | ★★★★★ | 87% | 81% | 81% | 78% | — |
| Seal | BYD | 2023 | ★★★★★ | 87% | 87% | 81% | 76% | Best CO (tied) |
| Dolphin | BYD | 2023 | ★★★★★ | 85% | 87% | 83% | 80% | Best VRU 2023 |
| EL7 / ES7 | Nio | 2023 | ★★★★★ | 84% | 86% | 82% | 82% | — |
| MIFA 9 (MPV) | Maxus | 2022 | ★★★★★ | 93% | 89% | 73% | 83% | Highest AO in 2022 |
| Omoda 5 | Chery | 2022 | ★★★★★ | 87% | 87% | 68% | 88% | Best SA 2022 |
| Smart #1 | Smart (Geely) | 2022 | ★★★★★ | 86% | 83% | 79% | 78% | — |
| Coffee 01 / 02 | WEY (GWM) | 2022 | ★★★★★ | 85% | 82% | 77% | 79% | — |
| ET7 | Nio | 2022 | ★★★★★ | 84% | 83% | 78% | 82% | — |
| MG4 Electric | MG | 2022 | ★★★★★ | 83% | 80% | 73% | 80% | — |
| Ora 03 (Funky Cat) | ORA (GWM) | 2022 | ★★★★★ | 82% | 79% | 75% | 76% | — |
| Marvel R | MG | 2021 | ★★★★☆ | — | — | — | — | 4★ — older protocol |
| Qoros 3 | Qoros | 2013 | ★★★★★ | — | — | — | — | First Chinese 5★ ever |
* Zeekr X and Zeekr 001 overall scores reported as 96% and 95% respectively by Euro NCAP — these are weighted overall scores, not purely adult occupant. Breakdown percentages for some 2025 models are not fully published at the time of writing. Red rows = four stars. All results sourced from euroncap.com.
How to Read This Table
Euro NCAP scores four separate categories: Adult Occupant (protection of adults in the car), Child Occupant (child seat protection), Vulnerable Road Users (pedestrian and cyclist protection), and Safety Assist (ADAS — automatic emergency braking, lane assist and similar). For most private buyers, Adult Occupant and Child Occupant are the directly relevant figures. VRU and Safety Assist matter, but they describe what happens to people outside the car rather than the people inside it.
Five stars do not mean a perfect score; they mean the car cleared Euro NCAP’s threshold across all four categories. Two cars can both be five stars while one significantly outperforms the other. A 96% adult occupant score (Nio Firefly, Nio ET5) represents a categorically better result than an 83% (MG4 EV’s 2022 result), even though both are five-star rated. The percentages matter.
The protocols also change. The 2025 test is stricter than the 2023 test, which was stricter than the 2022 test. A five-star result in 2025 is harder to achieve than a five-star result in 2022. When comparing scores across years, keep the protocol difference in mind — the Nio Firefly’s 96% in 2025 is more significant than the Nio ET5’s 96% in 2023 because the test was harder.
The Records and the Standouts
The all-time record: Nio Firefly, 2025 — 96% adult occupant
The Nio Firefly is a small city car, closer in size to a Renault Zoe than to a Nio ET5, which makes its 96% adult occupant score under the tougher 2025 protocol the most surprising result in the table. Small cars are inherently disadvantaged in frontal impact tests because they have less crumple zone to absorb energy.
The Firefly achieving 96% under conditions designed to be harder than 2023 represents genuine structural engineering. It holds the joint record with the Nio ET5 (2023), but under a stricter protocol.
Best in Class 2024: Zeekr X — Small Family Car
Euro NCAP’s Best in Class award is not just a five-star rating — it is the highest weighted score across all four categories within a specific segment. The Zeekr X won it in the Small Family Car class in 2024, ahead of every European and Japanese competitor in that segment. Its 96% overall score placed it above the Volkswagen ID.3, Renault Megane E-Tech and every other small family car tested that year. Zeekr is a brand most European buyers have never heard of. Its safety data is now objectively better than the cars they have heard of.
Highest adult occupant score in a single test year: Deepal S07, 2024 — 95%
The Deepal S07, Changan’s electric SUV, positioned as a direct Tesla Model Y competitor, scored 95% in adult occupant protection in 2024, the highest of any car tested that year across all brands and nationalities. Deepal is barely known in Europe and not yet widely available. Its safety result is better than anything BMW, Mercedes or Volkswagen produced in the same test round.
The Four-Star Exceptions
Two Chinese-brand models have received four stars since 2020. The MG Marvel R (2021) was tested under an older protocol and is no longer on sale in most markets. The MG ZS Hybrid (2024) is the more significant result. It is a current model, widely available across Europe, and its 75% adult occupant score is meaningfully lower than that of the five-star Chinese cars in this table.
The ZS Hybrid’s weakness is adult occupant protection, not child safety (82%). MG’s own MG4 EV scored 83% adult occupant under the same general protocol generation. Buyers choosing between the ZS Hybrid and the MG4 EV on safety grounds should note that the purely electric MG4 tested significantly better.
No other Chinese brand has received fewer than 4 stars since 2020. The Brilliance BS6’s one-star ADAC result in 2007, the crash that defined Western perceptions of Chinese car safety for a decade, is now 18 years old and describes a car from a Chinese manufacturer that no longer sells in Europe.
Chinese Brands Now on Sale in Europe Without a Euro NCAP Result
Euro NCAP does not test every car automatically; manufacturers submit vehicles, or Euro NCAP selects high-volume models for independent testing. Several Chinese brands now selling in Europe have not yet had a model tested. This does not mean they are unsafe, but buyers cannot use Euro NCAP data to evaluate them.
As of March 2026, the following Chinese brands active in Europe do not have a published Euro NCAP result for their current European model range: Lynk & Co, Jaecoo (J7 available, not yet tested), Omoda (Omoda 7 — the Omoda 5 was tested as Chery Omoda 5 in 2022 under different branding). Check euroncap.com for the most current results before purchasing any model not in this table.
Editor’s Take
The most important fact in this article is not any individual car’s score. It is the trajectory. In 2013, Qoros became the first Chinese brand to earn five stars, and it was treated as a curiosity. In 2022, nine Chinese cars were submitted, and nine received five stars. In 2024, a Chinese car won Best in Class outright. In 2025, a Chinese city car posted the highest adult occupant score in Euro NCAP’s 28-year history.
The caveat that deserves repeating: every result in this table applies to the European-spec version of the car. Chinese manufacturers have confirmed they upgrade export models specifically for Euro NCAP compliance. The domestic-market versions of some of these cars have not been independently tested to the same standard. If you are buying a Chinese car in Europe, the data above applies to you. If you are buying one from the grey-import market or a parallel importer, it may not.
This guide is updated as new Euro NCAP results are published, typically three to four times per year. Results from mid-2026 onward will use Euro NCAP’s updated 2026 protocol, which introduces broader ADAS requirements and revised crash scenarios. The five-star threshold is moving up again. Based on the trajectory of the past three years, expect Chinese brands to move with it.
Hillary started his automotive writing journey at HotCars, and has written for CarNewsChina, GlobalSUV, and many other top auto blogs.
He loves to read, play chess, and supports Liverpool during the weekends