While light trucks are increasing in popularity, ANCAP believes advancements in safety features and technologies in the light truck segment haven’t kept pace with other vehicle classes. Light trucks, along with other goods vehicles such as commercial vans and medium and heavy trucks, remain over-represented in fatal and serious injury crashes in Australia. According to ANCAP, these vehicles make up less than three per cent of all registered vehicles on Australia’s roads, yet they are involved in approximately 15 per cent of all fatal crashes.
To combat this, ANCAP’s recently launched Light Truck ADAS Safety Comparison seeks to bring greater accountability and safety standards to the light truck segment through a new assessment regime.
The comparison has been undertaken to identify a baseline level of safety performance.
The program is an expansion of ANCAP’s highly trusted and respected safety regime, which offers consumers and fleets with free, independent and trusted information to make informed decisions. ANCAP has been testing and rating the safety performance of passenger vehicles for over 30 years and this information has led to a dramatic improvement in the safety of these vehicles, ensuring Australian road users benefit from the highest safety standards.
Light trucks represent an important segment of the vehicle market, responsible for the ‘last mile’ delivery to Aussie homes and as the transport vehicle of choice for many small to medium businesses nationwide. Compared to other vehicle segments, light trucks offer carrying capacity at a relatively affordable price point, with the ability to be driven on a C Class (car) driver licence. These factors and the growing scale of online shopping and delivery demand since the pandemic has led to an increased presence on the roads, with Australian light truck sales increasing by an average of 6.6 per cent per year since 2012.
ANCAP chief executive officer, Carla Hoorweg, said this is a new chapter for the segment and the first time light trucks have come under independent examination.
“When it comes to road safety, the human cost of doing nothing is too great to ignore. We call on the entire industry to embrace this as an opportunity to prioritise improving the safety features in their vehicles and recognise the positive role they can play in making our roads safer for all Australians,” he said.
“As you can see from the performance insights, each of the truck models examined bring their individual merits, and all have complied with the Australian Government’s regulatory safety requirements ahead of their mandating, yet in comparison to other vehicle segments and consumer expectations, there is still a fair way to go.
“It’s not just about having the technology on board, we want to understand how well it works and where there can be areas of improvement.
“Through this program we are aiming to drive positive change among the truck industry, fleet operators, and small business owners.
“From these inaugural findings, we expect to see safety performance improve quite quickly through voluntary updates introduced by manufacturers.”
Light Truck ADAS Safety Comparison
Australia’s three top-selling light trucks, the Isuzu N-Series, Fuso Canter and Hino 300 Series and, together with the highest-selling battery-electric (EV) light truck, the Foton T5, were selected for examination in this inaugural comparison.
The model ranges of these four trucks account for 74 per cent of all new Light Duty trucks sold (10,788 vehicles) in 2024.
Each of the four trucks were assessed at the Transport for NSW Future Mobility Testing & Research Centre – a National Association of Testing Authorities (NATA) accredited laboratory – and their performance was examined against criteria and procedures refined with input from truck manufacturers and industry representatives.
Each of the four trucks were purchased independently on the retail market and tested to the same standards and processes to ensure a fair, accurate and independent safety assessment. The purchase of these vehicles from dealerships is essential to ensuring ANCAP’s independent testing process, as it ensures the vehicles being tested are the same as a buyer would be receiving and driving on Australian roads.
The features examined included the fitment and performance of low and high-speed autonomous emergency braking (AEB), lane support systems, speed assistance systems and occupant detection. Airbag and seatbelt fitment was also examined, with all four trucks lacking these features for the centre passenger seating position.
Considering the potential weight of goods being transported, assessments were undertaken with each truck laden to 50 per cent of its good carrying capacity. Additional assessments were carried out with differing load conditions to examine any variance in performance.
Findings from the comparison show that advanced safety technologies are available for and can be fitted to light trucks, yet current generation systems are limited in functionality. With new and updated models expected to be introduced by truck manufacturers soon, the opportunity exists for manufacturers to go beyond regulatory basics and provide their customers with the best products possible. Safety improvements are expected in new generations set for late 2025 and beyond.
The findings from this comparison have been used to determine baseline performance benchmarks with performance gradings to be introduced from 2026.
Full details can be found within the Light Truck ADAS Safety Comparison report can be found on the ANCAP website.