Safety shock for Chinese car
2007-06-22 11:09
The Brilliance BS6
A car with which China wanted to conquer Europe's automobile market has failed to pass a benchmark German crash test, the German ADAC automobile club said on Thursday.
The BS6 sedan made by Chinese car maker Brilliance won only one out of a possible five stars in the crash test, carried out in accordance with Euro NCAP regulations, at ADAC's crash test laboratories, the organisation said.
It was the second time in less than two years that a
Chinese-made car has failed the test, following the spectacular failure of the Landwind sports utility vehicle (SUV) made by Jiangling Motors 18 months ago, said ADAC spokesperson Maximilian Maurer.
"The BS6 sedan performed almost as badly as the Landwind in
November 2005," Maurer said.
The test consisted of a frontal and side crash at 64 km/h, and the front crash showed that the safety cell of the Brilliance BS6 was too soft and not stable enough, ADAC
said.
Most European-made cars win four or five stars in the crash
test, so the result is not encouraging for the BS6, which was launched at the last Geneva Motor Show.
"After Landwind's 2005 test result, it stopped being sold in Europe," said ADAC's Maurer.
The BS6 could therefore face the same fate, he warned.