GM, Porsche, Maserati, Kia, And Jaguar Fail To Meet Automatic Emergency Braking Safety Pledge

GM, Porsche, Maserati, Kia, And Jaguar Fail To Meet Automatic Emergency Braking Safety Pledge

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) reported that five out of the 20 automakers that pledged to equip at least 95 percent of the light-duty vehicles they sell in the U.S. with automatic emergency braking by September 2022 have failed to achieve that goal.

Kia just missed out on the pledge, reporting that 94 percent of its vehicles are equipped with the safety feature. The Korean automaker blamed pandemic-related supply chain issues for the shortfall.

Jaguar Land Rover, General Motors, Maserati, and Porsche, meanwhile, all only supplied between 70 and 75 percent of their vehicles with the collision avoidance technology. GM and Porsche, though, made major headway, as last year they reported that just 58 and 59 percent of the vehicles they sold in the U.S., respectively, were equipped with automatic emergency braking.

Read: Study Shows Automatic Braking Systems Reduce Rear-End Collisions By 43 Percent

Jaguar Land Rover also made headway, equipping 75 percent of its vehicles with the system this year, as opposed to 60 percent last year. Maserati, meanwhile, actually had a backslide, offering the system on 71 percent of the vehicles it sold this year, as compared to 72 percent last year.

Honda and Acura, also suffered a backslide. Like Kia, it should have just barely missed out on accomplishing its pledge, with 93 percent of the vehicles it sold in 2022 coming with automatic emergency braking. Because 96 percent of the vehicles it sold last year were equipped with the safety feature, though, it was not required to report this year.

Three automakers, however, did the opposite, and added the safety feature to enough vehicles in 2022 to come in under the wire, and live up to their pledge. They are Mitsubishi, Nissan/Infiniti, and Stellantis.

Stellantis, in particular, took a major step in 2022. Last year, just 43 percent of its vehicles were sold with automatic emergency braking systems. This year, it was up to 96 percent, making it the single biggest gainer this year.

“With Stellantis dramatically boosting the percentage of vehicles it equips with AEB, there’s been another big jump in the number of affordable cars and SUVs with this important safety feature,” said David Harkey, IIHS president.

All 20 automakers agreed, in 2016, to make automatic emergency braking a standard feature on 95 percent of their vehicles no later than September 1, 2022. The deal was brokered by both the IIHS and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The safety organizations estimate that, once all 20 automakers reach this goal, 42,000 crashes and 20,000 injuries will be prevented by 2025.

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