The decision has been made to push forward the ASEAN NCAP Phase III results release from March as previously announced to end-April or early May (tentative).
"The postponement was called for due to the safety and security considerations of the event and the participants, as a result of the recent political situation in Bangkok. We do hope the situation becomes stable in due time so that we could plan a similar event in Bangkok, within the year," ASEAN NCAP deputy sec-gen Azhar Hamzah said in a release.
The Phase III Open Day, where the results will be officially revealed, will therefore likely happen in Malaysia (the 'Plan B' venue) instead of Thailand.
Phase III evaluation will include the testing of pickups as well as models from various origins (OEMs from India, China and France). Left-hand drive (LHD) cars will be evaluated for the first time.
Testing for this phase will also be carried out in Japan at the Japan Automobile Research Institute (JARI) lab in Tsukuba, with the assistance of Australasian NCAP. The JARI facility is an appointed ASEAN NCAP official test lab, and the programme's first test lab outside the ASEAN region. Testing will also take place in Korea for the first time in KATRI, with the collaboration of Korea NCAP.
A total of 11 models, with two models in both lowest and premium versions, are due to be evaluated, making for a total of 13 results at the end of Phase III testing.
Elsewhere, on the road-map front, the conclusion of testing in phases (the pilot stage is divided into three phases) means that the agency will now operate like other NCAP organisations, in which testing and the release of results are routinely carried out. It's also set to, like Japan NCAP, introduce the Grand Prix award later this year.
Phase I results were announced in February last year, and those of Phase II in August.
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