More Chinese cars dodge tests
Published:19-December-2005
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When the Chinese Landwind SUV came to Europe in July, the ADAC - the German equivalent to the UK's AA - decided to crash-test it. The vehicle failed miserably, scoring the lowest ever rating on crash tests carried out by the motoring organization. Now, the impending arrival of two new Chinese models on the European market has sparked fresh safety fears as neither will undergo official crash tests.
Great Wall Automobile plans to launch the Hover SUV and Deer 4x4 in Europe next year, initially in Spain and Italy, and expects annual volume sales of up to 12,000 in three years. However, the cars will be imported on a license intended for commercial vehicles, which means they will be effectively exempt from official EU crash testing.
In September it was reported how the first Chinese car to arrive on European roads - the Jiangling Landwind budget SUV - had evaded official crash tests by using a legal loophole designed for low-volume manufacturers. The EU is now considering tightening the rules and the car’s German launch has been delayed. But the arrival of two more untested Chinese models is likely to reignite the controversy.
