Electric and Hybrid Vehicles Crash Test Protocol Improvements

Abstract

Electric and hybrid vehicles are submitted to the same passive and active safety standards as fossil fuel engine vehicles and so they have to pass crash tests defined by type approval regulations (EU, Japan, etc.), self-certification requirements (US), or other consumer standards such as Euro NCAP, USNCAP or GlobalNCAP. Crashing an electric or hybrid vehicle represents a challenge, not only for OEM’s but also for test developers. OEM’s must guarantee the safety of their vehicles’ occupants while having a crash on the road, and test laboratories must ensure a strict safety procedure to take special care when testing HEV/EV’s. However, there is a potential danger after severe crashes due to the risk of electric shock or spillage from the battery. This paper presents an overview of the safety requirements for electric vehicles and hybrid electric vehicles, both for, European regulations and American FMVSS standards. Furthermore, since hybrid and electric vehicle crashes imply a hazardous situation for test laboratories; the protocol applied for HEV/EV crash tests IDIADA’s crash test laboratory is described and related with the principal risks of testing electric vehicles to standardize the safety of these tests; before, during and after tests amendments are established.