[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 181 (Monday, September 22, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45463-45466]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-18285]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
[Docket No. NHTSA-2024-0077]
New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) Notice--Delay of Program
Updates
AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA),
Department of Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Notice of postponement of the implementation of program updates
for the New Car Assessment Program (NCAP).
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SUMMARY: On November 25, 2024, and December 3, 2024, the National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) published in the Federal
Register two final decision notices announcing changes to the Agency's
New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) and stated that these changes would
be implemented beginning with model year 2026 vehicles. This notice
announces that implementation of the changes discussed in the November
2024 and December 2024 notices are postponed for one model year.
DATES: Crashworthiness pedestrian protection assessments, as discussed
in NCAP's November 25, 2024 notice, as well as planned changes to the
ADAS technologies included in NCAP, as described in NCAP's December 3,
2024 notice, will be implemented for model year 2027 vehicles.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information, you may
contact Ms. Taryn E. Rockwell, New Car Assessment Program, Office of
Crashworthiness Standards (Telephone: (202) 366-1810). You may send
mail to this official at the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building, Washington,
DC 20590-0001.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Executive Summary
On November 25, 2024, the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration (NHTSA) published in the Federal Register a final
decision notice that established a new crashworthiness pedestrian
program as part of the Agency's New Car Assessment Program (NCAP).\1\
Subsequently, on December 3, 2024, NHTSA published a final decision
notice that added four new advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS)
technologies to NCAP--blind spot warning (BSW), blind spot intervention
(BSI), lane keeping assist (LKA), and pedestrian automatic emergency
braking (PAEB)--and updated existing requirements for automatic
emergency braking (AEB).\2\ These program updates were to be
implemented beginning with model year 2026 vehicles. This notice
announces that implementation of the changes discussed in the November
2024 and December 2024 notices are postponed for one model year to
model year 2027 vehicles. The Agency will continue to recommend the
existing ADAS technologies--forward collision warning (FCW), crash
imminent braking (CIB), dynamic braking support (DBS), and lane
departure warning (LDW)--for the 2026 model year. For the reasons
explained elsewhere in this notice, NHTSA will, however, also assign
credit to any vehicle models for which the respective vehicle
manufacturer has provided an attestation of passing performance for one
or more of the new ADAS technologies in their response to NCAP's annual
vehicle information request for model year 2026 vehicles. Credit for
vehicles exhibiting passing performance for the adopted crashworthiness
pedestrian protection requirements will not be issued for the 2026
model year.
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\1\ 89 FR 93000.
\2\ 89 FR 95916.
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II. Background
NHTSA established the NCAP program in 1978 in response to Title II
of the Motor Vehicle Information and Cost Savings Act of 1972. The
program began with frontal impact testing in 1979 and has expanded over
the years to include side impact barrier testing in 1996, rollover
assessments in 2000 and 2003, side impact pole testing in 2011,
[[Page 45464]]
and assessments for advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) beginning
with model year 2011 vehicles. Adopted ADAS technologies have included
electronic stability control (ESC), forward collision warning (FCW),
and lane departure warning (LDW), added in 2011; rear visibility
systems, adopted in 2013; and more recently, crash imminent braking
(CIB) and dynamic braking support (DBS), known collectively as
automatic emergency braking (AEB), added in 2015 for model year 2018
vehicles. While NHTSA assigns star ratings on its website for the
original program elements (i.e., frontal impact, side impact, and
rollover assessments), it uses checkmarks to recommend to consumers
those ADAS technologies that meet NCAP's performance requirements.
On December 3, 2024, NHTSA published a final decision notice \3\
announcing its plan to update NCAP's ADAS program to include several
new technologies--blind spot warning (BSW), blind spot intervention
(BSI), lane keeping assist (LKA), and pedestrian automatic emergency
braking (PAEB)--as well as to increase the stringency for the existing
performance requirements related to AEB. Around the same time, in a
final decision notice published on November 24, 2024,\4\ the Agency
also announced the addition of a crashworthiness pedestrian protection
program to NCAP. NHTSA stated that changes adopted for both notices
would be implemented beginning with model year 2026 vehicles.
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\3\ 89 FR 95916.
\4\ 89 FR 93000.
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III. Rationale for Postponing NCAP Enhancements for One Model Year
NHTSA has decided to postpone implementation of adding
crashworthiness pedestrian protection information and adding
recommendations for the four new ADAS technologies to NCAP for one
model year. These program changes will now be effective beginning with
model year 2027 vehicles. The Agency believes delaying the planned
updates is appropriate to address concerns expressed by the automotive
industry and to provide the Agency with sufficient time to implement
the planned changes in a manner that ensures the integrity of the NCAP
program is upheld.
A. Concerns Expressed by Auto Innovators
On April 25, 2025, NHTSA received a letter from the Alliance for
Automotive Innovation (Auto Innovators) submitted in response to the
Agency's November 25, 2024 and December 3, 2024 final decision notices
on adding to NCAP a pedestrian protection program and four new ADAS
technologies, respectively. In its letter, Auto Innovators, a
consortium of vehicle manufacturers and suppliers, requested that NHTSA
delay the planned program changes for NCAP by at least one year, citing
(1) NHTSA's failure to publish test procedures for evaluating
crashworthiness pedestrian protection, (2) outstanding technical
questions surrounding the Agency's final decisions for both the new
ADAS technologies and the crashworthiness pedestrian protection
program, (3) an implementation timeline that limits manufacturer
participation by imposing unnecessary barriers, and (4) a lack of
comparative ratings to allow consumers to differentiate between the
safety performance of vehicles.
Regarding a lack of published test procedures for crashworthiness
pedestrian protection assessments, Auto Innovators added, while it
appreciates NHTSA's attempt to align with the corresponding European
New Car Assessment Program (Euro NCAP) test protocols, that a delay in
finalizing and publishing official test procedures for the U.S. NCAP's
crashworthiness pedestrian protection assessments ``is creating
unnecessary uncertainty [and undue burden] for manufacturers, is
preventing manufacturers from fully evaluating their current and future
fleet, and is limiting their ability to identify any specific changes
that may be needed in order to meet the new pedestrian protection
crashworthiness ratings.''
With respect to outstanding technical questions surrounding NHTSA's
final decisions for both program updates, Auto Innovators expressed
that validation testing in process may introduce questions or issues
that would have to be addressed quickly to ensure manufacturers
continue to participate in the NCAP program. Adding to this, the group
asserted that there is a significant cost associated with vehicle
testing, and manufacturers will be cautious to complete testing
proactively due to concern of having to repeat testing to account for
differences in test procedures.
As mentioned, the organization also conveyed concerns regarding
time and resource constraints given NHTSA's decision to invoke program
changes with less than a year's notice. Auto Innovators contended that
the adopted implementation schedule did not allow sufficient time for
manufacturers to implement vehicle design changes to meet the new NCAP
performance requirements, and as such, proceeding on the current
timetable would be a disservice to not just vehicle manufacturers, but
also consumers and NHTSA, because manufacturers would be able to attest
to passing performance only for a limited number of vehicle models. The
group explained that there are ``practical constraints and logistical
challenges that limit how quickly manufacturers can respond,'' because
manufacturers must not only redesign vehicle models to meet the new
requirements, but must also procure new test equipment, make upgrades
to test facilities, and adjust test schedules to accommodate the new
testing.
Auto Innovators also commented on NHTSA's decision to establish a
binary pass/fail performance criterion (with passing performance
conveyed in the form of a checkmark on NHTSA's website) in lieu of a
comparative rating system for the two program changes. The organization
stated that this type of information is of limited use to consumers, as
they will be unable to differentiate between vehicles offering
different levels of performance. Furthermore, the group claimed that
such a system, in general, is not conducive to incentivizing
manufacturers to make incremental safety improvements, a main goal of
NCAP. While Auto Innovators recognized that NHTSA is planning to
conduct additional research to assess consumers' ratings preferences,
the group also asserted that this research should have been completed
before the Agency published its November 2024 and December 2024 final
decision notices.
Auto Innovators stated that NHTSA must address all the
aforementioned issues to ensure the NCAP program maintains credibility
and consumers are provided with meaningful information.
Auto Innovators subsequently reaffirmed many of the concerns
outlined in their April 25, 2025 letter in response to the Department
of Transportation's (DOT's) request for information (RFI) on ``Ensuring
Lawful Regulation; Reducing Regulation and Controlling Regulatory
Costs.'' \5\ In its comment submission, the organization requested that
NHTSA delay implementation of the final decision on the ADAS and
crashworthiness pedestrian protection program updates for NCAP by at
least one year. While Auto Innovators expressed support for the program
updates, it asserted that the new test procedures for both program
components would ``add significant time and resource burdens for both
[[Page 45465]]
manufacturers and NHTSA,'' and contended that a delay of the program
updates would ``improve the efficiency of the program and address any
outstanding technical concerns.''
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\5\ 90 FR 14593.
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Agency Response
NHTSA acknowledges the concerns Auto Innovators has expressed. The
Agency appreciates that the delay in finalizing and publishing test
procedures has created uncertainty for manufacturers. It is
understandable that manufacturers may not want to invest in redesigning
vehicle models or conducting testing to evaluate their vehicles'
ability to provide adequate protection to pedestrians in a crash if the
actual test procedure and requirements are unknown. Vehicle testing
imposes significant costs, and, as such, it may be cost prohibitive for
many vehicle manufacturers to conduct testing if the results of that
testing may later be deemed invalid due to changes to test procedures
or requirements stemming from the Agency's validation testing. NHTSA
also recognizes the cost and time commitment inherent to sourcing new
laboratory equipment and making facility updates to accommodate new
testing in a relatively short timeframe. These are all valid reasons to
request that the Agency delay the implementation of the new NCAP
requirements.
Auto Innovators' contention that all parties--manufacturers,
consumers, and NHTSA--are best served if manufacturers are provided
with sufficient time to implement vehicle design changes, perform
confirmatory testing, and submit performance attestations to NHTSA
early on in a model year is also reasonable. However, NHTSA does not
mean to assert that an extended amount of time is needed to ensure all
vehicles can achieve credit for passing performance at the onset of any
new NCAP program update. NCAP is a consumer information program, not a
compliance program. NCAP provides consumers with safety information on
vehicle performance that exceeds that which is expected for minimum
compliance standards, and as such, it also serves to incentivize
vehicle manufacturers to make safety improvements to their vehicles
that go beyond safety expectations so they may promulgate them and
increase consumer interests. Given this, the Agency believes it is
unnecessary to assure the vast majority of vehicles achieve passing
performance for NCAP's assessments at the onset of any program updates.
Regarding Auto Innovators' opinion that NHTSA must establish a
comparative rating system to ensure consumers are provided with
meaningful information, the Agency agrees with Auto Innovators that
there is a benefit to providing consumers with comparative crash
avoidance and crashworthiness pedestrian protection ratings. This is
not to say, however, that there is no benefit to the pass/fail
performance metrics the Agency has adopted. NHTSA plans to assign
credit (via checkmark) for each of the new ADAS technologies--AEB,
PAEB-day, PAEB-night, BSW, BSI, and LKA--separately. Therefore,
consumers may still differentiate among performance for multiple
vehicles by comparing the number of ADAS systems that pass NCAP's
performance requirements for each vehicle. As such, NHTSA believes
vehicle manufacturers will still be enticed to make vehicle safety
improvements in a timely manner.
The Agency notes that it has used checkmarks to signify passing
system performance for all ADAS technologies included in NCAP to date,
and they have proven to be a useful tool to encourage vehicle
manufacturers to make system improvements to advance vehicles' crash
avoidance capabilities. When NHTSA first added FCW to NCAP in 2011,
approximately six percent of vehicles were equipped with systems that
were able to meet NCAP's performance criteria whereas 92 percent were
able to do so in 2023. Similarly, less than 5 percent of vehicles were
equipped with CIB systems that met NCAP's performance requirements when
the technology was first adopted in 2017, and yet over 80 percent of
model year 2023 vehicles met these requirements. The Agency sees no
reason to assume a different outcome would result by conveying system
performance in a similar manner for the new ADAS technologies or
crashworthiness pedestrian protection component adopted for the
program. Furthermore, NHTSA does not reason that it would be more
beneficial to consumers to impose significant, additional delays in
implementing NCAP's most recent program updates as the Agency waits for
the completion of its pending consumer information research centering
around updates to the safety ratings portion of the vehicle Monroney
Label. The Agency recognizes, as Auto Innovators also stated, that any
additional program delays would not be ideal given the long-standing
delays in updating NCAP since its last major upgrade implemented for
model year 2011 vehicles.\6\ This being said, NHTSA does see merit in a
one year delay for implementation of the adopted ADAS and
crashworthiness pedestrian protection additions to address some of the
concerns expressed by Auto Innovators and recognized by NHTSA. Delaying
implementation of the changes to NCAP for one year should give
manufacturers adequate time to prepare for the enhancements to the
program, particularly as the Agency is publishing the crashworthiness
pedestrian protection test procedures as a follow-on to this notice.\7\
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\6\ 73 FR 40016.
\7\ Docket No. NHTSA-2024-0078.
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B. Ensuring Program Integrity
The delay requested by Auto Innovators will also provide NHTSA with
sufficient time to complete actions necessary to ensure the continued
integrity of the NCAP program. The Agency will be able to make the
necessary updates to the www.NHTSA.gov website to reflect the program
changes and develop clear, consumer-friendly language that accurately
communicates those changes. Along these lines, NHTSA will also be able
to progress with development of two databases necessary to collect
crash avoidance and crashworthiness pedestrian protection test data
from NCAP's test labs and annual vehicle information data from vehicle
manufacturers. These efforts are expected to increase program
efficiency and data accuracy and reduce the reporting burden on vehicle
manufacturers.
A one-year delay of the program enhancements will also allow the
Agency time to complete ADAS and crashworthiness pedestrian protection
validation testing of model year 2025 vehicles. Completion of this
testing prior to the official implementation of the program updates is
ideal so that NHTSA has time to revise the new ADAS test procedures to
(1) resolve any errors or conflicts noted during the validation
testing, (2) provide clarification to address any ambiguities observed
for test conduct or performance requirements, and (3) provide any
refinements that may be deemed beneficial to improve test
reproducibility. The Agency took similar steps prior to the last major
update to NCAP by providing clarifying language and corrections to the
side impact moving deformable barrier and side pole test procedures, in
addition to the respective dummy seating procedures and qualification
procedures after the test procedures were published and the validation
tests were completed.
[[Page 45466]]
IV. Data Collection and Reporting Requirements
Because NHTSA is delaying the adopted program updates for one year,
manufacturers need not provide performance attestations for the new
ADAS or crashworthiness pedestrian protection NCAP requirements for
model year 2026 vehicles. Rather, such declarations would be submitted
for vehicles beginning with the 2027 model year to obtain credit for
the new program elements. Manufacturers may continue to provide NCAP
with performance attestations for the four existing ADAS technologies--
FCW, CIB, DBS, and LDW--for their model year 2026 vehicles. Since the
Agency did not ask for performance declarations for the existing
technologies as part of NCAP's most recent annual information request
for model year 2026 vehicles, NHTSA plans to issue a supplemental
request for information from vehicle manufacturers to obtain this data.
V. Credit for Existing and New Technologies but Not Crashworthiness
Pedestrian Protection
NHTSA recognizes, as Auto Innovators stated, that manufacturers may
have expended time and resources to perform testing in accordance with
NCAP's new ADAS test protocols with the expectation of obtaining
performance credit for any model year 2026 vehicles that provide
passing performance for any of the newly adopted ADAS technologies. As
such, the Agency will still issue checkmarks for the new ADAS
technologies for these vehicle models. NHTSA plans to assign checkmarks
for those vehicles achieving passing performance for the ADAS
technologies that currently exist in NCAP (i.e., LDW, FCW, CIB, and
DBS) as well as for those that have been newly adopted (i.e., AEB,
PAEB-day, PAEB-night, BSW, BSI, and LKA).
NHTSA acknowledges that some individuals or entities may be
concerned regarding how potential future updates to NCAP's new ADAS
test procedures will affect performance credit awarded for model year
2026 vehicles. While the Agency recognizes that the test procedures for
the newly adopted ADAS technologies may be updated to address
ambiguities or to provide clarification, it does not believe that
future updates will affect performance requirements. Accordingly, NHTSA
does not anticipate removing credit for model year 2026 vehicles that
achieve passing performance using the test protocols published with
NCAP's December 2024 ADAS final decision notice. NHTSA would permit
ADAS performance attestations to carry over from the 2026 model year to
the 2027 model year for those vehicles having systems that have no
changes to hardware or software such that their performance during
NCAP's updated ADAS tests is unchanged from one model year to the next.
The Agency notes that it will not be similarly providing early
credit for those model year 2026 vehicles that are able to achieve
passing performance for NCAP's crashworthiness pedestrian protection
program. The Agency is making a distinction for this program component
compared to the new ADAS technologies because it does not believe
manufacturers have been provided with sufficient information to conduct
testing that would be assured to meet the test protocol that will
ultimately be published for NCAP's crashworthiness pedestrian
protection assessments. As such, credit for passing performance in
NCAP's crashworthiness pedestrian protection tests will not be assigned
on the Agency's website until the 2027 model year.
VI. Conveying Information to Consumers
Given the decisions discussed above, NHTSA plans to update its
website to assign credit (via a checkmark) to any model year 2026
vehicles achieving passing system performance for the existing ADAS
technologies (i.e., FCW, CIB, DBS, and LDW) as well as the newly
adopted technologies (i.e., AEB, PAEB-day, PAEB-night, BSW, BSI, and
LKA). In addition, the Agency plans to assign credit for the existing
ADAS technologies (i.e., FCW, CIB, DBS, and LDW), for any vehicles
receiving credit for the corresponding new technologies, AEB and LKA,
as applicable.
As an example, if a vehicle manufacturer has indicated in its
submission to NCAP's annual information request that a particular
vehicle model achieves passing performance in NCAP's new AEB test, this
vehicle model will be assigned credit for AEB and will separately be
assigned credit for FCW, CIB, and DBS. Similarly, if the manufacturer
indicates to NCAP that the vehicle model passes NCAP's new LKA test, it
will be assigned credit for LKA as well as LDW.
Assigning credit for the existing comparable ADAS tests when
passing performance is achieved for the related new, more stringent
tests, should limit consumer confusion. When comparing a vehicle that
passes NCAP's AEB and LKA tests to a vehicle that does not pass these
tests, the consumer will always see performance credit assigned to a
greater number of technologies for the former (i.e., 6 technologies, or
more) compared to the latter (i.e., at most 4 technologies). In this
way, consumers should be encouraged to seek out those vehicle models
that afford better overall system performance to prevent frontal
crashes and lane/roadway departures.
The Agency believes pursuing an approach whereby credit is imputed
to NCAP's existing ADAS tests when the comparable new ADAS tests are
passed should also lessen manufacturer test burden and reduce overall
testing costs, as manufacturers who have conducted the NCAP's new ADAS
tests will not have to separately perform the program's existing ADAS
tests for the same vehicle model. Furthermore, NHTSA reasons such an
approach is appropriate considering that the more stringent test
protocols adopted for AEB and LKA encompass the performance
requirements previously established for FCW, CIB, DBS, and LDW,
respectively.
NHTSA's planned approach of awarding credit to both the existing
and future ADAS technologies will be limited to the 2026 model year.
For 2027 model year vehicles, the Agency will assign credit only to
those vehicles achieving passing performance for the newly adopted ADAS
technologies--AEB, PAEB-day, PAEB-night, BSW, BSI, and LKA.
As the Agency has stated that it does not intend to provide early
credit for those model year 2026 vehicles that are able to achieve
passing performance for NCAP's crashworthiness pedestrian protection
program, NHTSA will not begin to assign crashworthiness pedestrian
protection credit until the 2027 model year. No credit for
crashworthiness pedestrian protection will be assigned for model year
2026 vehicles.
Issued in Washington, DC, under authority delegated in 49 CFR
1.95, 501.4, and 501.5.
Peter Simshauser,
Chief Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2025-18285 Filed 9-19-25; 8:45 am]
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