Australian Auto Organization Issues Chery Safety Warning

The Royal Auto Club of Queensland is warning Australians against buying inexpensive imported cars after the release of what it calls alarming crash-test results.

Steve Spalding, the organization’s vehicle technologies executive manager, says the Australasian New Car Assessment Program has issued a poor 2-star safety rating to Chinese auto maker Chery.

Chery J11 gets low safety rating.

“During the frontal-offset crash test, the passenger compartment of the Chery J11 compact sports/utility vehicle lost its structural integrity, which could cause serious injuries to the car’s occupants,” Spalding says in a statement.

Recent tests of other SUVs showed they typically score four or five stars, and Spalding says the Chery’s two stars indicate a substantial safety shortfall.

“Motorists need to be aware they could be compromising their own safety and that of their passengers by purchasing a car with such a low crash-test rating,” he says.

He also says the Chery J11 had been scheduled for a side-impact test as part of ANCAP’s ratings assessment, but the auto maker first initiated a recall campaign.

“Although plans are still under way to conduct a side-impact test, the poor result in the frontal-offset test restricts the Chery J11 to a maximum 2-star rating irrespective of the outcome of the side-impact test.”

The J11 scored just two out of 16 points in the offset crash test because it offered the driver such poor protection against serious chest, leg and foot injury.

It scored zero points in ANCAP’s pedestrian tests, with its design deemed a danger to pedestrians, cyclists and other vulnerable road users.