AN ORGANIZATION that strives for cars to protect passengers from accidents, the Global New Car Assessment Program (Global NCAP), has criticized Chery South Africa for its statement that the Tiggo 7 Pro is safe but said it will not sell in the country.
At the beginning of February, Chery issued a statement boasting that the Tiggo 7 CHS received five stars in the Euro NCAP test.
“South African families need to know that their car will be protected in real situations and not only by what is written,” said Verene Petersen, spokesperson for Chery South Africa.
Global NCAP under its campaign with the Automobile Association of South Africa (AA) #SaferCarsForAfrica, revealed that the Chery Tiggo 7 Pro sold in South Africa received two stars when tested to protect elderly passengers. Three out of five children are screened for child protection.
It said that the child seats failed to fit in the rear facing position and the car could not deploy the airbag if the child seat was installed in the front on the passenger side.
The results showed that the feet and the body are not strong enough, it was not tested for hitting the post on the side because it does not have head protection in the front and back and it has Electronic Stability Control to remind passengers to fasten their seat belts even though Global NCAP said it is not at the desired level.
Global NCAP strongly criticized Chery for its statement praising this car despite the fact that it is not sold in the country and said the results should not be used to mislead customers.
“Two stars on the Tiggo 7 Pro is disappointing, but this disappointment is compounded by the publication of misleading results with foreign test data,” said Richard Woods, CEO of Global NCAP.
The chief executive officer of AA, Bobby Ramagwede, said that they have been asked many times by customers to start checking the safety of Chinese companies’ vehicles.
“These results reveal two things, the ongoing trend that cars sold in Africa do not come with safety as in other places as well as the campaign to avoid disclosing to customers in this country the safety of all types. We said it before and we repeat it now, South African drivers deserve better, I don’t care how much the car costs and with these two stars it reinforces the need that all companies must commit to the same safety in all countries,” said Ramagwede.