Zeekr X being used to assess tougher 2029 safety standards for alerts, phantom braking

The Zeekr Xsmall electric SUV has become the first car crash-tested as European and Australian safety bodies develop their 2029 safety standards, building on the new 2026 protocols introduced this year.

With three-year intervals between protocol updates, the European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) and Australasian New Car Assessment Programme (ANCAP) are already working on the next set of safety standards following the latest revisions.

While the Zeekr X already holds a five-star ANCAP rating achieved in 2024, it was subjected to an experimental ‘research test’ at a facility in the Netherlands, which won’t affect its existing rating.

Instead, the test is designed to help inform and shape the 2029 protocols, which will be largely aligned between the two safety bodies and have been previewed in Euro NCAP’s Vision 2030 roadmap.

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A key focus for the 2029 protocols is a deeper evaluation of how advanced driver assist systems (ADAS) interact with each other.

The aim is for better integration of these systems so vehicles can better interpret driver behaviour – such as where a driver is looking – and only issue audible warnings when necessary, reducing unnecessary alerts.

The safety authorities are also looking to minimise the occurrence of so-called ‘phantom braking’.

Phantom braking refers to instances where a vehicle’s autonomous emergency braking activates unnecessarily, often without an obvious hazard, and has affected brands including Tesla.

Euro NCAP Secretary General Dr Michiel van Ratingen told media, including CarExpert, the new standards are focused on four priorities.

“One is to really ensure safe adoption of a system of automated driving systems, but these systems are more or less there to help you drive,” he said.

Dr van Ratingen said ADAS features can be broadly divided into ‘comfort’ and ‘safety’ categories. Systems such as fatigue monitoring fall under comfort, while features such as autonomous emergency braking are considered safety systems.

“This is not a new topic for you right now, but in terms of the driving of ADAS into the market, we really feel that there’s still a huge potential to further improve it. The systems as they are today – sometimes, they are not delivering what the promise.”

A broader range of crash-test dummies, representing different body types, is also being developed to better understand how crashes affect occupants of varying sizes.

“The main thing is … how do we make sure that we are designing our vehicles in the future not just for the dummy that we happen to have, but with the whole population in mind, and actually use all the intelligence that cars currently have and can collect on who’s in the car to actually optimise crash protection.”

The new Thor-5F dummy introduced for the 2026 protocols costs around €1.3 million ($2.15 million) and is a bipedal – meaning human-like – model with significantly more sensors to provide detailed crash data.

It represents a fifth-percentile adult female, and a second Thor-5F dummy is planned to be added for 2029 testing.

“If you look at whiplash claims in Europe, whiplash claims of females are twice those of males – so the women have twice the amount of risk of whiplash as man. So, it’s actually quite controversial to use a male dummy in this respect,” the secretary general said.

Euro NCAP is also investigating additional dummies and the use of ‘human body models’ to assess internal injuries to ribs, organs and other structures.

This could provide greater insight into how crashes affect occupants of different ages, potentially identifying previously unknown risk factors.

The organisation is also exploring cloud-based communication technology for vehicles, expanding on the 2026 protocols, which penalise cars without automatic emergency call functions.

In the event of a crash, additional data sent via the cloud could inform first responders about the severity of the incident and likely injuries.

“The 2029 [protocols] are more about the content, 2026 was more about building the house, building the structure,” said Dr van Ratingen. “Now we’re ready to actually use that instrument, the new rating scheme, to effectively drive change in the market.”

MORE: 2026 ANCAP safety protocols are here: What you need to know