Four Hyundai, Kia models win US IIHS top safety awards

Hyundai Motor Group’s four models earned the safest vehicle awards even with a tougher crash test by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) that will help the leading South Korean carmaker accelerate its expansion in the world’s second-largest automobile market.

The IIHS selected Hyundai Motor Co.'s flagship luxury Genesis G90 sedan and its midsize sport utility vehicle Palisade, as well as Kia Corp.'s midsize SUV Telluride among 28 models for its highest ranking of Top Safety Pick+, according to the insurance-industry-backed nonprofit organization on Feb. 23. The IIHS also chose Hyundai’s midsize sedan Sonata among 20 cars for its Top Safety Pick rating.

Last year, the group received more safety awards than any of its counterparts from the IIHS.

The organization releases lists of safe automobiles based on its own series of crash tests on models sold in the US every year. Sales of cars with the Top Safety Pick+ and Top Safety Pick ratings usually increase.

TOUGHER TESTS

This year, the IIHS strengthened the requirements for the awards, demanding better side crash protection and improved pedestrian crash prevention systems and eliminating subpar headlights from the field of qualifying vehicles.

The biggest change to the criteria for both awards is the replacement of the original IIHS side crash test with the updated evaluation launched in 2021. The updated test involves 82% more energy than the original test. Vehicles must earn an acceptable or good rating to qualify for the Top Safety Pick, while a good rating is required for the “plus.”

The Top Safety Pick+ criteria include another new evaluation, the nighttime vehicle-to-pedestrian front crash prevention test. Advanced or superior performance is required in both the nighttime and daytime pedestrian tests for the higher award. For the Top Safety Pick, only a daytime rating of advanced or superior is required.

“It is significant that our models earned such awards although it became harder to win such prizes since the IIHS has toughened the crash test,” said a Hyundai Motor Group official on Sunday.

Hyundai and Kia sold a combined 1.5 million vehicles in the US last year, maintaining the No. 5 position in the market, following General Motors Co., Toyota Motor Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Stellantis N.V., in that order. 

Write to Hyung-Kyu Kim at khk@hankyung.com
 
Jongwoo Cheon edited this article.