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5 Ways Connected Cars Can Improve Fleet Management Reporting

Fleet managers are faced with several challenges impacting efficiency and cost. Here are five of the most common results you may be obtaining with reporting by leveraging telematics and workflow automation.

Fleet management reporting is key: unfortunately, most fleet managers find themselves mainly immersed in tasks that are time-consuming and little related to the bottom line.

A recent GR ADVISORY survey including over 600 EU companies found that Fleet Managers believe a complete, timely and integrated reporting is a priority for a proper fleet governance, yet over 70% still rely upon Excel sheets. Fleet managers are frustrated by the inaccuracy, time ineffectiveness and potential for error that handling reporting manually often results in. Optimizing fleet reporting is crucial for companies that operate fleets of vehicles and mobile workforce. It is a business activity that is often overlooked and can have a significant impact on the business. 

How can telematics impact fleet reporting? How can telematics help fleet managers to consolidate historical databases to analyse fleet data, identify trends and support sound decision making, ultimately generating more productivity and safety? Diagnostic and on-board localization technologies generate 5 main benefits that would be otherwise impossible to obtain. The result is unique thanks to the combination of continuous data transmission and low impact on internal processes, combined with the use of artificial intelligence (AI).

1. Fleet sizing – Defining the right number of vehicles to perform business services, both to serve customers and for internal use (corporate car sharing and pooling), is top of list when starting an optimization project. Telematics allow you to build a sound mapping of vehicles utilization the driver’s habits: frequency of use, timing, locations most required, opportunities for sharing. Dynamic data update allows you to understand whether fleet sizing, often undisputed over the years, is correct or, likely, you have potential to downsize some business areas and allocate the excess to new projects or to other rising business areas.

2. Customization of fleet contracts – Cost per kilometre is a key cost driver in long-term leasing, the most popular acquisition method, especially for large companies. Fleet managers are therefore required to forecast the expected mileage: a hard task, that is subject to many potential changes over the contract duration. The information can be obtained from refuelling report, yet data accuracy is often poor and maintenance is manual and time consuming. Accessing actual daily mileage data enables fleet managers to better manage contractual flexibility and to calibrate durations and distances based on real needs, avoiding over and underutilization.

3. Consumption and emissions – Most large companies are currently preparing programs for the green transition of their fleets to be rolled-out by 2025: CO2 emissions are expected to be reduced by up to 50%. Measurement of actual emissions is still a big unsolved problem. And so is the analysis of actual emissions over time. Most green car programmes are based today upon the emissions and consumption declared by the automotive OEMs (WLTP cycle), but actual data can be very different from the real ones, depending on the use of the vehicle and the driving style. Telematics offers a timely and constant recording and delivers the actual Total Cost of Ownership of the fleet, rather than a proxy based on the declared data or an estimate based on a manual data analysis from the fuel cards.

4. Security and claims management – The claims management market is exceedingly busy at the moment. The industry is receiving a good sum of money by working on behalf of consumers. On the company side, fleet managers are often not aware of the accident ratio of their fleet. When the fleet is owned the task is outsourced to a broker, when the fleet is long-term rented the company is normally charged with and average insurance fee fixed upon an average corporate accident ratio (i.e. some companies pay in excess whilst others free ride). Insurance applications is one of the best items offered by telematics. It is now possible – through A.I. – to build an effective driver safety plan based on real data as well as to get an insurance cost related to your actual trend rather than the average corporate fleet loss index. Your fleet will then benefit from reduced cost, improved safety and better corporate responsibility management.

5. Cost control – Real-time data transmission enables the control of several costs otherwise difficult to monitor: fuel expenses and the use of fuel cards, vehicle’s efficiency, the prevention of breakdowns and malfunctions. An important part of the achievable savings on variable rental costs is linked to driver’s behaviour: these costs are difficult to control and reduce without constant monitoring and proactive actions.

As connected devices become prevalent, the technology to create and support a connected car ecosystem becomes more advanced. The connected car is the fastest-growing technological device after the smartphone and tablet: we can only imagine the range of capabilities we are going to experience over the next years. As of today, your fleet can already gain productivity and cost reduction through a powerful and reliable reporting enhanced by telematics.

By Mauro Serena – Partner, GR ADVISORY

Don’t find problems for solutions that already exist

When talking about electrification and charging solutions, fleet managers are often unaware of the solutions that are already in place and they often struggle with myths and false assumptions. If anything, corporates need to start pilots to convince their stakeholders of the feasibility of electric driving.

The bottom line is that people have to realise that a battery-electric car is perfectly fit for 98% of our trips. Even a modest battery, which today offers a range of 200 to 300 km, is more than sufficient for the vast majority of our journeys. And for the remaining 2%, there are flexible solutions.

Today, many drivers still choose a perk car based on that 2% use case: they want to go on holiday with their car once a year and be able to go away for a family weekend twice a year, so to speak. The rest of their journeys are mainly driven without passengers or luggage. The time has come to move away from this way of thinking. But that’s only possible if two conditions are met: the employee is willing to compromise and perhaps take a step back in terms of luxury, prestige and size for their daily drive, and there has to be a seamless transition to a temporary vehicle to fulfil the needs the daily drive can’t.

Short-term rental seems the perfect answer. The temporary car can be delivered to the doorstep of the employee and can even be more prestigious and luxurious than the one they drive today, thereby incentivising them to make the switch. Why not offer a convertible for a weekend, or a fancy 4×4 to go skiing? This could be budget neutral so long as the cost-savings resulting from the smaller electric daily drive are sufficient.

Ensure a seamless user experience

Charging is yet another obstacle that keeps on circling in fleet managers’ minds but solutions are available for most problems. After all, there are various specialised partners who can draw up an accurate picture of your charging needs today and tomorrow, both at home and at the office.

In addition, there are more and more solutions for public charging that give you access to almost all networks thanks to pan-European roaming agreements. No more collection of cards and tags and frustration if none of them work. No more separate invoices from each provider. One-card-for-all solutions and consolidated invoicing are out there. The only area where progress needs to be made is price transparency and harmonisation. Today the rate differences are huge, which in turn is a threat to the TCO. But the problem is relative: on average, only one charging session in ten takes place at a public charging station.

PHEVs are perhaps not the solution

A lot of myths about charging persist. But if your EV has a substantial battery, you do not have to charge as frequently as with a PHEV. And with a clever network you can charge many vehicles simultaneously. Once you have experienced EV driving, you will realise charging is not such an issue.

Indeed, fleet managers have a tendency to believe that plug-in hybrids are the perfect intermediate step as they do away with range anxiety and charging problems. But if that is the premise, they are nothing but a stopgap solution. If you allow your drivers to burn fuel without limits, then the TCO story won’t add up, let alone that your company makes any ecological progress.

On paper, PHEVs offer great credentials and the offer of available models will explode in the years to come, but before you give them the green light in your car policy, think carefully about your fuel costs. A possible solution to counteract excessive refuelling is to put a cap on the monthly fuel budget and at the same time stimulate electric charging. For example, by facilitating home charging and reimbursing electricity costs at a higher rate than the actual cost.

As such, PHEVs seem an even more complicated asset to manage than a pure BEV, complemented with the occasional ICE for longer drives.

Source: fleeteurope.com

Urban Mobility Identification

Researcher Katarzina Cheba from the West Pomeranian University of Technology in Szczecin, Polandand Sebastian Saniuk from the University of Zielona Gora, Zielona Gora, Poland presented an article at the 6th Transport Research Arena, regarding urban mobility – identification, measurement and evaluation. The article provides an a-up to date review on this issue. Here there are some of the key issues. 

   The purpose of the study is an attempt to make a model of the transportation preferences of urban residents, in  particular: the opinions of citizens concerning their perception of the quality of the public transport services and  getting to know their preferences and circumstances of their making decisions concerning the choice of urban  transport. These analyzes are particularly important in the case of separation of tasks related to urban transport between the organizer and the operator. The study shows that these tasks, although carried out by separate entities are seen by the inhabitants together. This has an important impact on the effective management of the quality of urban transport services.

Identification      

The problem considered in this paper is the results from a comprehensive analysis of the public transportation system in a medium-sized metropolitan area (Gorzow city in Poland). The system is based on buses and trams, but the dominating component is the bus transportation sub-system (85% of the km covered). The bus sub-system is fairly well developed and is composed of 36 lines covering an area of 80 km2 – the majority of the city. As opposed, the tram sub-system is composed of 3 lines only. A significant problem of the city in terms of public transport is the decreasing frequency of running vehicles (both buses and trams). The main reason for these changes is weakening citizens’ interest in using this mode of transport. For nearly a decade, Gorzow has been experiencing a decline in demand for public transport services, demand for which now stands at more than 50% less compared to 2005.

A result of this decline is the gradual reduction of the size of the transport offer available in the city. The reduced transport offer (measured in terms of operational work) refers to both bus and tram. The immediate cause of the  observed market trends are unfavorable changes in the number and structure of Gorzow residents and neighboring  municipalities covered by the transport service, an increased number of cars, an increase in the overall welfare of  society, the situation on the local labor market and factors such as the availability of parking and individual  circumstances including, for example: reducing transport congestion in the city as a result of completion in 2007 of  the Gorzow bypass.

An additional problem is unfavorable demographic trends (an aging population moving less within the city). The consequence of these changes is primarily rising ticket prices – particularly affecting the inhabitants and reducing the frequency of running vehicles.

The authors highlight that these factors lead to lower and lower assessment of the quality of collective transport services. It is therefore more important to know how the residents decide on the choice of means of transport by which they will move around the city and conduct a profound analysis of the quality of services provided within the urban public transport.

  Urban mobility – the proposal of measurement        

This paper presents the results of modelling transport behavior of inhabitants using factor analysis. Factor analysis is a statistical method used to describe variability among observed, correlated variables in terms of a potentially lower number of unobserved variables called factors. The applications of factor analytic techniques are: to reduce the number of variables and to detect structure in the relationships between variables, that is to classify variables. Therefore, factor analysis is applied as a data reduction or structure detection method.

The research carried out in the city in 2007–2011 and repeated in 2014 confirms a decline in average assessment of the level of satisfaction with the quality of services provided within the urban public transport, particularly evident in 2014. The observed decrease in ratings applies to both basic areas of determining  the quality of such services, such as ticket prices, frequency, safety, directness connections (so called  communication of vehicles) or punctuality, as well as the so-called areas covering complementary factors, e.g.: the  culture of drivers or the manner of inspecting tickets.  tickets. Although in not all of these areas there was a real reduction in the quality of services, lower scores concerning the areas of quality also resulted in a reduction of assessments in other areas.

Factor 1 covers the most important aspects of the quality of services provided in the context of public transport which are: punctuality, frequency, accessibility, immediacy, the way the provision of services works as an hourly schedule and ticket prices. Apart from punctuality, all others are regulated by the transport organizer. These factors can be in principle treated as synonyms of the quality of these services. This result confirms the need to cooperate in the development of transport offers between the organizer and the operator.

Factor 2 includes 3 aspects of the study: safety, equipment with modern means of transport and travelling conditions inside vehicles – all are regulated by the operator. They are supplements of the points raised by previous factor. 

   However, in the case of the third factor all these aspects of the study which should be considered as additional were included, such as: culture of drivers, cleanliness of stops, or the way of conducting inspections. As in the case of the first factor, also in this case, aspects regulated by the organizer are by respondents evaluated together with those that are regulated by the operator.

Moreover, in a situation where this organizer (City Hall) decides on key areas affecting the quality of public transport services it is in charge of proper preparation of conditions of the transport. The researchers concluded that actions taken by the operator are basically secondary to the conditions laid down by the organizer. Such influence is significantly lower in relation to the operator’s ability to influence the quality of public transport  services as perceived by residents of the city.

The authors stress that coordination and integration of activities undertaken by the transport organizer in the city (public authorities) and  selected operators, e.g. by tender is especially important in the case of decreasing residents’ interest in the use of  services provided within urban public transport.

Conclusions

 Knowledge of the preferences and communication behavior of the  inhabitants allows for proper development of the transport offer, guaranteeing high quality compliance with the  requirements of modern passengers, which is particularly important in the situation of increasing urban problems of  excessively rapid growth of private transport. Understanding human behavior can then be used to develop strategies that may help steer the respondents towards a higher use of public transport. Therefore, it is vital to conduct this type of research, limited not only to cities where transport congestion is already experienced.

As the authors of the article explain, the analysis presented in this paper shows that we can observe a high quality of services when performing tasks covered both by the organizer, and the operator is assessed by passengers relatively highly. The estimated model of factor analysis demonstrated variables that are evaluated jointly by residents. This statistical analysis drew useful information about the factors that may affect the mobility behavior of residents. Statistics is often a powerful tool that can be used by policy and decision makers to gain better insight of the mobility behavior of residents and to apply adaptive and more effective mobility management policies.

Lynk & Co launches subscription service in Europe

It’s not often that a brand-new carmaker enters the market. That’s exactly what Lynk & Co is doing, and it’s doing it by focusing on connectivity through a subscription-based usership model.

Lynk & Co is bringing the 01 compact SUV to Europe. It will be available to buy but Europeans can also sign up for a membership for €500 per month. This cost can be reduced by sharing vehicles through the Lynk & Co app.

The Lynk & Co 01 has been on sale in China since 2017 but is has been revised for the European market. Its front end has been redesigned, it has an all-new interior and the chassis has been tuned for European roads. The 01 has also been modified to meet European safety standards.

It should come as no surprise that the Lynk & Co 01 shares its underpinnings with the Volvo XC40 as the company is part of the same group as Volvo, Geely Zhejiang Holdings.

The 01 will only be offered with hybrid drivetrains for the European market. A plug-in hybrid 180-hp petrol engine with a 75-hp electric motor promises an electric-only range of about 70km. The full hybrid variant mates a 143-hp petrol engine to a 50-hp electric motor.

Subscription model

Lynk & Co is taking a gamble by pushing the subscription model. In China, where Lynk & Co cars have been available for some time, its cars can only be bought outright in China because the company believes Chinese drivers still prize car ownership.

Results of other car subscription services have been mixed so far, with Mercedes-Benz pulling the plug on a pilot it started two years ago. Cadillac did the same earlier and GM shut down its Maven carsharing business earlier this year. The European market, with its many heavily congested cities, could turn out to be more successful.

Options on the 01 are limited in a move to facilitate deliveries. Members can choose between the two powertrain options and they can have their car in dark blue or black.

Purchase prices have not yet been disclosed. The membership, at a price of €500 per month, comes with a maximum of 15,000km per year.

The interior comes with all tech drivers have come to expect, including an enormous tablet in the centre console.

Club

Lynk & Co will open what it calls clubs, retail outlets where potential drivers can familiarise themselves with the concept and the vehicle. Most transactions are, however, expected to be done online. The vehicles will be services through the Volvo network.

So far, Lynk & Co only plans to launch the 01 in Europe, though the carmaker also offers a 02 coupe-style SUV and a 03 saloon on the Chinese market.

Signing up will be possible from the end of October and the first vehicles should become available in the spring of 2021.

Source: FleetEurope

How artificial intelligence increases electric range

A bigger battery means an electric car can drive further. Still, connectivity and AI play an equally important role as they allow the vehicle to intelligently brake regeneratively or to coast, depending on topography and traffic. Driver involvement is the final piece to the puzzle.

Maximising electric range is a matter of making optimum use of the available kWh. This basically means that the vehicle needs to regenerate kinetic energy when deceleration is required, but also to coast and minimise friction when accelerating. Most (PH)EVs are good at the first part, i.e. converting kinetic energy back to electricity and thereby braking the vehicle, but less so at the second part.

Today, it takes an attentive and proactive driver to continuously judge the road ahead and either simply release the accelerator and make the car gently brake on the e-motor, or to switch the gear selector in neutral to ‘freewheel’ and make the car sail or coast as long as possible in anticipation of a junction, a roundabout, a lower speed zone or a turn.

Few people actually change all the time between Drive and Neutral to make optimum use of the battery. It could be fun and engaging but it’s not practical. Fortunately, OEMs like BMW and Mercedes-Benz have introduced a powerful connected brain to their latest PHEV models that does all the switching and predicting for you, while stimulating to make an effort yourself by rewarding you with a green score card.

BMW: continuous coasting and regenerating

The Bavarian premium carmaker has developed a new Operating System that not only gives access to a wider array of connected services, it also improves the efficiency of its electrified powertrains. Since the hybrid system is linked to the navigation system, the interaction between combustion engine and electric motor can be adapted more precisely to the route profile, topography and other driving situations in an anticipatory manner. The electric range is increased by recuperation in overrun and braking phases.

The coasting function on the overrun, among other things, contributes to a further reduction in consumption and an increased electric range. The navigation and sensor data-supported control system also optimises the effectiveness of braking energy recovery. When approaching a junction or a vehicle driving ahead, for example, infinitely adaptive recuperation can be put to particularly intensive use for the purpose of deceleration.

Mercedes-Benz: anticipatory Eco Assist

The third-generation hybrid technology’s energy management that can be found aboard the latest PHEV models from Stuttgart includes a so-called anticipatory Eco Assist. This uses the data from all the driving assistance systems – such as the radar sensor, cameras and navigation system – and helps the driver to adopt an energy-saving and environmentally compatible driving style. The powertrain management calculates precisely when it is best for the driver to come off the accelerator (and use the momentum for charging), and when and how often the transmission should change gear to save fuel and maximise the range of the electric drive.

The Eco Assist helps by prompting the driver to release the accelerator, use ‘gliding’ (or coasting, or sailing) mode or activate recuperation. It also uses the haptic accelerator to inform the driver when further acceleration is only possible by activating the combustion engine. At the end of the trip it lets the driver know the distance covered while the combustion engine was switched off.

Indeed, advanced connectivity and automotive brainpower combined with driver interaction and some sort of gamification or green driver kudos could make a real difference, not only in terms of emissions and range, but also regarding TCO. The less the combustion engine is employed, the more compelling the business case.

Source: FleetEurope

Sustainable urban Mobility

Researchers Ana Louro, Nuno Marques da Costa and Eduarda Marques de Costa, from de Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal, published an article on MDPI on may 23 2019.  The article provides an a-up to date review on this issue. Here there are some of the key issues.

The present study covers the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, Portugal, and its municipalities. The intention of this paper is to understand if sustainable urban mobility policies at the municipal and metropolitan levels contribute to healthy cities.

Definition principles: “A healthy city is one that is continually creating and improving those physical and social environments and expanding those community resources which enable people to meet their own needs”

“A sustainable city is often defined as a city designed with consideration of local and global environmental impact, guided by urban sustainability visions and targets.

The definitions of sustainable cities and healthy cities and the principles that drive them reveal common points that prove their symbiotic relationship.
Four key points stand out:

1) the multi-temporal perspective, which simultaneously considers interventions and results in the short term and the long term, the present and the future, and this generation and the next ones;

2) the multi-sectoral perspective, which highlights that sustainable cities require relationships among several sectors in the environmental, economic, and social domains

3) the multi-level perspective, which, similar to the context of sustainable development, raises the level of local initiatives, such as sustainable communities or neighborhoods, to the global scale, whereas the Healthy Cities movement intends to exert its effects starting from the individual level, then moving to the community level, until finally reaching the global or ecosystem level; and, lastly,

 4) the common view that neither approach is focused on achieving specific goals but rather on the realization of a continuous improvement process applied to cities and the quality of life of their inhabitants.

In turn, there are many consequences that are contrary to the principles of healthy cities, and they can be organized into four main areas: (a) the social area, with consequences such as social exclusion (b) the health area encompasses consequences in the form of a great variety of diseases, such as respiratory diseases, cardiovascular diseases], neurological diseases, behavioral and psychological disorders, and obesity; (c) from the economic area emerges the loss of local amenities, infrastructure, and material costs, fuel costs, and time costs (d) finally, in the environmental area, the decline in green spaces and open spaces, water and soil contamination, and global warm.

The concept of sustainable mobility assumes that all citizens can choose accessibility and mobility options that are safe, comfortable, timely, and affordable, and that simultaneously contribute to environmental protection by having high levels of energy efficiency and reduced environmental impacts.

Intervention axes: The authors highlight the identification of 13 intervention axes in sustainable urban mobility for healthy cities.

Intervention:

  • Axis 1, “Healthy and clean behaviors in transport”, promotes, for instance, safe driving behaviors by individuals free from the harmful effects of tobacco, alcohol, and drugs.
  • Axis 2, “Integrated transport information supported by Information and Communication Technology (ICT)”, includes initiatives that provide real-time information about routes and schedules or about support infrastructures such as parking, electric vehicle loading, or bikesharing.
  • Axis 3, “Inclusive, safe, and barrier-free transport systems”, highlights initiatives to make the system more inclusive (e.g., level crossing and walking), and safer (e.g., lane separation, protection of bicycle lanes)
  • Axis 4, “Transport speed”, is linked to the creation of public transport lines (priority or exclusive routes) or areas of reduced flow and the speed of motorized modes.
  • Axis 5, “Networks, intermodality, and connectivity” includes the promotion of transit-oriented development (TOD), the improvement or extension of public transport networks, and the improvement of stations and stops by developing better sidewalks, parking, taxi points, bicycle parking, and public toilets, among other amenities.
  • Axis 6, “Infrastructures for active modes”, considers measures to promote bicycle-friendly cities (e.g., the creation of bicycle lanes and support infrastructures), and pedestrian-friendly city (e.g., safe and accessible routes and support equipment).
  • Axis 7, “Transport electrification”, arises from the need for energy independence in transport.
  • Axis 8, “Land-use planning”, brings together actions related to sustainable urban models anchored in the principles of mixed land use.
  • Axis 9, “Data collection”, refers to the identification and/or creation of indicators to support diagnosis and evaluations by considering, for example, real-time and open-access information using digital tools (Global Positioning System (GPS), apps), in which case, the transport user is also the information producer.
  • Axis 10, “Legislation”, frames the legislative measures that cover all users and all transportation modes.
  • Axis 11, “Agents and Competencies”, reflects the initiatives that promote partnerships between funders, managers, and beneficiaries; multi-level, multi-agent, and multi-sector partnerships; and urban mobility in all policies.
  • Axis 12, “Instruments and studies”, includes initiatives related to sustainable urban mobility plans or similar, school or business mobility plans, road safety plans, and other tools, such as the Health Impact Assessment (HIA) and Health Economic Assessment Tool (HEAT).
  • Axis 13, “Awareness of benefits for health, environment, and economy sectors”, combines actions associated with active mobility, road safety education, and initiatives to communicate strategies and plans related to this subject to the whole community.

CONCLUSIONS

The researchers conclude that the answer to the research question (are sustainable urban mobility policies contributing to healthy cities?) is clearly affirmative as it is proven that sustainable development principles are an umbrella of all policies and diffuse in a top–down way, especially through the policies directed by the European Commission and Portuguese government.

 This fact translates to the policy instruments and practices being consistent with the principles of healthy cities, which is a movement characterized by its bottom–up nature and anchored in a local, innovative, multi-sectoral, and multiscalar governance strategy. These principles are not implemented explicitly or consciously by the technicians and politicians who work in the field of urban mobility in the LMA; nevertheless, the findings of this study indicate that they are being carried out.

Lessons for the Future

The authors stress that the promotion of cross-sectoral and multi-sectoral policies is one of the key factors in this study, although it proves to be scarce in both the analyzed instruments and agent discourses and practices. In this sense, the following is suggested:

a) The inclusion of Healthy Cities projects teams and/or their feedback in the elaboration, discussion, and evaluation phases of sustainable urban mobility planning instruments or other instruments;

 b) The inclusion of representatives of the urban mobility domain in a broad team of Healthy Cities projects (along with representatives of other areas, such as education, green spaces, or sanitation)

c) Encouraging the inclusion of the sustainable urban mobility approach and its influence on healthy cities not only in the network of partners of Healthy Cities projects but also in other existing networks (e.g., Social Network, Educational Network, Local Agenda 21). This promotes access to a greater diversity of funding sources and awareness initiatives.

Finally, the importance of the awareness of the community and local agents is highlighted, since it is only with their acceptance that significant changes can be expected. Some of the main agents are as follows:

a) Companies, especially those with a large number of workers, are considered to be major centers of attraction/generation.

b) The transport operators, in order to promote better levels of quality of the transport system, can also become involved in campaigns to raise awareness of the factors leading to the unsustainability of individual transport and promote a modal shift to soft modes or collective transportation;

This article underlines the necessity to continue this specific research. If the implicit presence of the healthy city principles in the context of urban mobility planning has been proven, the next approach should be centered on the evaluation of the implementation of the instruments and their results. A more demanding study would be the evaluation of their impacts, especially on health. Only then can we assess the real changes that have been made in favor of healthier territories.

Euro NCAP lists the ten best driver assistance systems

Euro NCAP has ranked ten driver assistance systems to find out which is safest. Tesla’s Autopilot was sixth of the ten whereas Mercedes, BMW and Audi came out of the assessment with high ratings.

Tesla’s sixth place was determined by its limitations in maintaining a driver’s focus on the road. It did gain the highest marks for performance and ability to respond to emergencies. Euro NCAP also praised Tesla’s over-the-air updates that allow for improvements to be introduced rapidly. Tesla did not comment on the assessment.

“The best systems offer a balance between the amount of assistance they provide and the level of driver engagement – and should be supported by an effective safety backup,” said Michiel van Ratingen, Euro NCAP Secretary General.

This assessment was the first to focus on driver assistance systems and it comes at a time when safety researchers have warned for systems that allow drivers to overestimate a system’s abilities. This risk is not helped by carmakers naming their systems Autopilot (Tesla), Co-Pilot (Ford) or ProPilot (Nissan).

The Volvo’s relatively low score has been attributed to the fact that this model has been on the market for some years, showing that rapid advancements in driving assistance technology require more frequent updates.

These are the full results:

Very good

  • Mercedes-Benz GLE
  • BMW 3-Series
  • Audi Q8

Good

  • Ford Kuga

Moderate

  • Tesla Model 3
  • Volkswagen Passat
  • Nissan Juke
  • Volvo V60

Entry

  • Renault Clio
  • Peugeot 2008

Source: Fleet Europe

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