ROCKLEIGH, N.J. (September 11, 2015) Volvo Cars will be one of ten automakers voluntarily agreeing to make Forward Collision Warning and Automatic Emergency Braking standard on all vehicles within five years. Volvo is proud to be among the first automakers to make such a commitment with both the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and commends them for their action. Volvo already has approximately 250,000 vehicles on U.S. roads with these technologies. The company encourages regulators to include these safety systems in the consumer-friendly 5-Star overall crash rating so American consumers can more easily determine the safest available vehicles.
Volvo introduced low speed Automatic Emergency Braking as standard in the 2009 introduction of the XC60 and the technology became standard in all Volvos by 2014. Automatic Emergency Braking is part of Volvo’s City Safety suite of technologies, which includes several methods to avoid or mitigate crashes. Both Forward Collision Warning and Automatic Emergency Braking are central to Volvo’s Vision 2020, which states that no one should be killed or seriously injured in a new Volvo car by the year 2020.
Volvo believes that the inclusion of such technologies in NHTSA’s “Cars on Stars” program, the consumer-friendly star ratings system on all new car “window stickers,” will mirror the information provided to consumers in almost all other major countries, where Automatic Emergency Braking and Forward Collision Warning is considered in top star safety awards. Incorporating these technologies into the U.S. star ratings system will make it easier for American customers to determine which cars provide the most advanced safety systems for themselves and their family.
“Automatic Emergency Braking and Forward Collision Warning are technologies that Volvo Cars has been offering drivers for many years. Our research has shown that they significantly reduce the impact of crashes or can eliminate them all together,” says Lex Kerssemakers, President and CEO of Volvo Cars of North America, “NHTSA and IIHS’s desire to have them standard in all vehicles mirrors our Vision 2020 and is in the best interest of everyone on the road. We congratulate NHTSA Administrator Mark Rosekind and IIHS President Adrian Lund on their call-to-action today and we encourage NHTSA to mirror other consumer rating systems like Euro NCAP, which include these technologies in their overall crash rating. ”
In addition to Automatic Emergency Braking and Forward Collision Warning, Volvo’s latest safety innovations can be found standard in the all-new XC90, including intersection auto-brake, which prevents drivers from turning into oncoming traffic at intersections and run off-road detection, which reduces spinal injuries when the car leaves the roadway. Both technologies are “world firsts” that highlight Volvo’s advanced work in eliminating and mitigating accidents.
“Volvo is constantly improving safety technologies. As we move forward in completely redesigning our entire lineup by 2018, we will easily achieve NHTSA and IIHS’s milestone” says Kerssemakers.
Volvo is in the midst of a total transformation of its automotive offerings, introducing 14 new cars by the end of 2018. These vehicles are based on the company’s new platforms that are built around electrification and enhanced safety technologies.
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