What is TNCAP
Taiwan New Car Assessment Program (TNCAP) is a vehicle safety rating program, where new cars are purchased from local dealers by the professional third party automotive agency, multiple tests are conducted in technical service, and then test results are converted into understandable information(such as star ratings) for the public. TNCAP aims to offer transparent and comprehensive vehicle safety information, which enables car consumers to select cars with higher safety level, along with facilitating the benign competition among vehicle manufacturers to develop more active and passive safety features, which increase the variety of safer vehicles to consumers, and with the goal to decrease road traffic accidents and economic losses.
The background of TNCAP
As the increasing concern from public toward Taiwan's vehicle safety these years, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) determined to establish Taiwan New Car Assessment Program (TNCAP) which refers to NCAPs from various countries. Through both mandatory Vehicle Safety Type Approval and voluntary “New Car Assessment Program”, MOTC expects to enhance vehicle safety and provide relevant vehicle safety information for the public in Taiwan.
Difference between TNCAP and Vehicle Safety Type Approval
The MOTC has conducted “Vehicle Safety type Approval” since 1998, which is a mandatory requirement. Before sold in the market, new cars have to pass all the tests and examination process to ensure they conform to the basic vehicle safety standards, in order to be mass-produced and apply for the license. In other words, all new cars sold in the market conform to basic safety standards. In comparison, Taiwan New Car Assessment Program is a voluntary system, which conducts active and passive tests and ratings to vehicle models already sold in the market. Compared to Vehicle Safety type Approval, the tests in TNCAP are generally much stricter, and testing results adopt a more intuitive star rating to reveal the safety performance level of the assessed vehicle model. Therefore, TNCAP and Vehicle Safety Type Approval are two different systems. Through complement of these two systems, MOTC expects to enhance vehicle safety and reduce road accident casualties in Taiwan.