The five-star rating is the U.S. Government’s highest-possible safety rating and is determined only after severe testing procedures as part of NHTSA’s New Car Assessment Program (NCAP), which combines vehicle performance in frontal and side-impact crash tests and resistance to rollover.

The Fusion Energi plug-in hybrid joins the Ford Fusion and the Ford Fusion Hybrid which already received five-star safety ratings.

NHTSA has elected to test plug-in vehicles separately from vehicles powered by gasoline internal combustion engines as the market share of electrified vehicles is increasing.

Ford said April marked its best hybrid sales month ever with Ford’s EV market share hitting an all-time high of 18 percent, up from 3 percent last April.

“The Fusion Energi combines the highest possible safety ratings from NHTSA and great fuel economy, two things we know customers are looking for in their vehicles,” said Steve Kenner, Global Director of the Ford Automotive Safety Office. “Our strategy is to provide our customers with a range of powertrain options in our vehicles, while still leading in fuel economy in every segment that we compete.”

The Fusion Energi gets an EPA fuel economy rating of 108 MPGe.

The NHTSA five-star rating for the Fusion Energi comes in addition to the 2013 Fusion being named a Top Safety Pick+ from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) in December.

The Top Safety Pick + designation is the highest rating the organization has for vehicle safety.

The post Ford Fusion Energi Scores Five Stars appeared first on HybridCars.com.

This is good news for a car that is known to be one of the most popular small car among individual buyers

The 2013 Civic Sedan recently received the top 5-Star Overall Vehicle Score in the NHTSA’s New Car Assessment Program (NCAP), and the highest possible rating of Top Safety Pick+ from the IIHS, including a top score of Good in the new small overlap frontal collision test.

Honda said it leads all automakers with every one of its tested model year 2013 vehicles earning a Top Safety Pick or Top Safety Pick+ rating from the IIHS.

The 2013 Honda Civic Sedan and Coupe are the first and only small cars to earn the IIHS’ highest safety rating of Top Safety Pick, and the NCAP 5-Star Overall Vehicle Score for the Civic Sedan further separates Civic from the competition in safety ratings performance.

The 2013 Accord also earned these high safety ratings in the midsize segment.

“Car shoppers cannot find a small car with higher overall safety ratings than the 2013 Honda Civic,” said Art St. Cyr, vice president of product planning and logistics at American Honda. “Safety ratings leadership across product lines is a fundamental part of not only our strategic business plan, but also our philosophy as a company.”

The Civic Sedan, which Honda said was significantly re-engineered for 2013, is equipped with Honda’s next generation Advanced Compatibility Engineering (ACE) body structure, which contributes to make Civic the first small car to earn a Top Safety Pick+ crash safety rating, and the first to earn the highest rating of GOOD in the IIHS’ new small overlap frontal crash test (sometimes called a ‘narrow offset’ test).

This aggressive test is designed to simulate what happens when the front corner of a vehicle collides with another vehicle or an object such as a tree or utility pole at high speed.

Honda said the reinforced ACE body structure found on the 2013 Civic further enhances frontal crash energy through a wider range of these offset and oblique collision scenarios.

Additional standard safety equipment on all Civic models include Vehicle Stability Assist (VSA) with traction control; an Anti-lock Braking System (ABS); side curtain airbags; dual-stage, multiple-threshold front airbags; and driver and front passenger side airbags.

The post Honda’s Civic Tops All Safety Ratings appeared first on HybridCars.com.

The Focus Electric, which is Ford’s first all-electric passenger vehicle, earned a five-star Overall Vehicle Score in NHTSA New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) testing, which combines vehicle performance in frontal and side-impact crash tests and resistance to rollover.

“As more people shop for electrified vehicles, the Focus Electric now offers both a top vehicle safety rating from NHTSA and a faster-charging technology that allows it to fully recharge in three to four hours,” said Steve Kenner, global director of the Ford Automotive Safety Office.

Safety-wise, the Focus Electric features front and side airbag technologies that Ford said is programmed to tailor deployment to individual occupants. The driver’s airbag uses a reconfigured curve-shaped tether system that pulls in the lower section to create a “pocket” to help lessen the impact of the airbag on the driver’s chest and ribs in frontal crashes. The side airbags feature unique shoulder vents that stay open and reduce pressure for smaller occupants who typically benefit from reduced forces.

The Focus Electric safety and security features include:

• AdvanceTrac with electronic stability control
• Dual-stage front airbags
• Front seat side airbags
• Side-curtain airbags
• Four-wheel anti-lock braking system
• LATCH (Lower Anchors and Tether Anchors for Children)
• Anti-theft engine immobilizer

The 2013 Ford Focus, which the Focus Eletric is based-on, earned a NHTSA five-star Overall Vehicle Score as well.

Ford just announced that more than 900 Ford dealers will soon be certified to sell plug-in electrified vehicles. Ford said the spike in electric vehicle-certified Ford dealers reflects increased demand for the company’s electrified vehicles.

Ford’s share of the electrified vehicle market is now second behind Toyota.

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