6 in 10 new cars have ESP
January 5th, 2010 by Richard Aucock
CAR buyers are starting to understand the safety benefits of ESP with latest sales figures showing a further uptake.
Nearly 6 in 10 new cars are now supplied with the anti-skid electronic feature.
Impressively, supplier Bosch says it is the supermini sector that is behind this 3-point growth. Nearly a quarter of all small cars are now sold with ESP.
The change in Euro NCAP crash test regulations is one factor behind this. Today, only cars fitted with ESP as standard on the majority of models can score a full 5 star rating.
Furthermore, from 2011, all newly introduced cars sold in Europe must be fitted with ESP – and, from 2014, ALL new cars sold must need to be equipped with it.
The only negative in the latest figures is the update in the city car category. This actually fell by 2 percent – barely 1 in 10 city cars are sold with anti-spin ESP.
AA President Edmund King said the current weather conditions provide a prime opportunity for car dealers to upsell the safety benefits of ESP.
‘Particularly in winter it is essential to avoid crashes by skidding, and ESP vehicle active safety technology is a proven life saver in these conditions.
‘We urge new car buyers to choose cars fitted with electronic stability control either as standard or as an option before other extras such as alloy wheels or iPod connections are considered.’