EUROPEAN NEW CAR ASSESSMENT PROGRAMME(Euro NCAP)ASSESSMENT PROTOCOL – OVERALL RATING
Implementation 2023

Version 9.1.1
December 2021

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EUROPEAN NEW CAR ASSESSMENT PROGRAMME (Euro NCAP)ASSESSMENT PROTOCOL – OVERALL RATING

Table of Contents
1INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................. 1

2

OVERALL RATING CALCULATION ............................................................................. 2
2.1Method .................................................................................................................................... 2

2.2

Weight Factors and Limits ................................................................................................... 2

2.3

Balance Criteria ..................................................................................................................... 3

2.4Rounding ................................................................................................................................ 5

APPENDIX I .............................................................................................................................. 6

EUROPEAN NEW CAR ASSESSMENT PROGRAMME (Euro NCAP)ASSESSMENT PROTOCOL – OVERALL RATING

1INTRODUCTION

Euro NCAP introduced the overall rating scheme in 2009. Individual documents are released
for the four main areas of assessment:••••

Assessment Protocol – Adult Occupant Protection
Assessment Protocol – Child Occupant Protection
Assessment Protocol – Vulnerable Road User Protection
Assessment Protocol – Safety Assist

In addition to these four assessment protocols, the present document is provided describing themethod and criteria by which the overall safety rating is calculated on the basis of the car
performance in each of the above areas of assessment.

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2

OVERALL RATING CALCULATION

2.1

MethodThe overall rating is composed of scores achieved in the four areas of assessment, also referred
to as “boxes”: Adult Occupant, Child Occupant and Vulnerable Road User Protection and Safety
Assist. The score in each box is based on the car performance in different tests.
For each box, a total score is normalised with respect to the maximum achievable score available
for the box. In this way, the maximum score for each box, and hence the total maximum score,is a constant. The weighted overall score is calculated from the individual assessment scores
using weight factors. These weight factors reflect the relative importance of the four.
The weighted overall score, determined by taking the weighted average of the scores in the fourboxes, is only used to rank cars for determining the best in class vehicles at the end of each year.
Vehicles that show a poor performance in one of the boxes will have their star rating restricted
to show that they do not provide good all-round protection. There will be a minimum scorerequired in each box to validate a star rating. See Figure I.1 (Appendix I) for a flow diagram ofthe method of calculation of the overall star rating.
2.2
Weight Factors and Limits
The weighted overall score is calculated from the individual scores in each box using weightfactors. Theoretical limits apply which are at the moment equal to the minimum weighted
overall score per star rating.
The weight factors are fixed but may be updated from time to time as priorities or the contentsof the boxes change. Table 3.1 summarises the weight factors applied in the upcoming period.
Table 2.1
Weight factors
Year

2020-2022

2023-2024

Box 1: Adult Occupant Protection

40%

40%

Box 2: Child Occupant Protection

20%

20%

Box 3: Pedestrian Protection

20%

20%

Box 4: Safety Assist

20%20%

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2.3

Balance Criteria

Balance criteria are applied to the individual box scores in order to assess all-round performance.
The limits given in Tables 2.2 and 2.3a are applied after the individual test scores have beenrounded.
A vehicle that meets all of the balance criteria for a 5-star overall rating cannot have any red
rated body regions after modifiers are applied. In case of a red body region as detailed in Table
2.2, the vehicle is limited to a maximum of 4-stars.
This prerequisite for 5-star overall ratings is applied to all official full scale and sub-system tests
performed by Euro NCAP:
Table 2.2
Tests and key body regions
Body Regions per Occupant
Full Scale Test
Driver

Front Passenger

Rear Passenger(s)Frontal MPDBHead & Neck
Chest

Head & Neck
Chest

HeadChest1

Frontal FW

HeadNeck
Chest

HeadChest

HeadChest

Side MDB

HeadChest
AbdomenPelvisSide Pole

HeadChest
AbdomenPelvisHead

Body Regions per Stature
Sub-System Test
Pedestrian Adult

Vulnerable Road User

HeadPelvis
Femur
Knee & Tibia

Pedestrian Child
HeadCyclist
Head1. Applicable to Q10 Chest 3ms exceedance calculation, 2023-2024.

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Table 2.3a
Balance limits for years 2023 and 2024
2023-2024

Box 1:
Adult OccupantBox 2:
Child OccupantBox 3:
PedestrianBox 4:
Safety Assist

5 stars

80%

80%

70%

70%

4 stars

70%

70%

60%

60%

3 stars

60%

60%

50%

50%

2 stars

50%

50%

40%

40%

1 star

40%

40%

30%

30%

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2.4

Rounding

The following rounding rules will be applied in the calculation of the overall rating.
••••••

Data is entered to 2 decimal places.
Intermediate calculations (e.g. calculations needed to derive parameters which are thenused to calculate scores) are not rounded.
Calculation of points scores (e.g. for individual body regions) are rounded to 3 decimalpoints e.g. a head score of 3.1238 in frontal impact would be rounded to 3.124.
The total points score in each box is the sum of scores rounded to 3 decimal points. To
calculate the percentage score in each box, the 3 decimal points total is divided by themaximum points available for that box and the resulting percentage is rounded down to
the nearest integer. In the example case: 25.124 / 36 * 100% = 69.789 is rounded to69%.
That integer is then compared with the balance percentage thresholds for the box inTable 3.3. In the example case, 69% qualifies for 3 stars AOP in 2013.
The overall weighted score is calculated as follows:- The 3 decimal point score in each box is divided by the maximum points available
in that box.
- The resulting percentage in each box is rounded to 2 decimal places.
- The percentages are multiplied by the respective weighting factors for each box,
and then added.
- The resulting sum is rounded down to the nearest integer.
- This integer is compared with the threshold requirements for star ratings for therelevant year.

Euro NCAP provides a Calculation Spreadsheet on their website.

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APPENDIX I

StartProtocols

VehicleAssessment

Assessment
Scores

WeightFactors

Calculate Weighted
Score

Overall
Weighted
Score

Calculate OverallStar Rating

Meeting
Balance
Criteria?

LimitsNo

Downgrade

Yes
OverallRating

EndFigure I.1
Flowchart for the Calculation of the Overall Star Rating

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