Chinese cars are not renowned for their occupant safety, but the new Qoros 3 Sedan has become the first car from a brand 'headquartered in China' to achieve five stars in the stringent EuroNCAP crash testing protocol.
Not only did it make the five-star grade, but it also gave the best overall performance of all vehicles assessed during 2013, which effectively makes it one of the safest vehicles ever tested by EuroNCAP.
The Qoros 3 achieved an overall result equating to 88 percent. Broken down into the respective categories, it achieved a score of 95 percent for adult occupant protection, 87 percent for child protection, 87 percent for pedestrian safety and 81 percent for safety assistance systems.
Qoros vice chairman Volker Steinwascher, explained: "The safety of our vehicles was one of our key development goals from the start. It's a crucial demonstration that our customers are the most important consideration and it also says a great deal about the engineering integrity of the car as a whole.
"The Qoros engineering team invested an incredible amount of time and commitment in developing one of the safest vehicles ever assessed by Euro NCAP."
Underlining the importance of this safety rating is the fact that the Qoros brand, which is a joint-venture between Israeli and Chinese partners, will soon compete on the European market.
There's no word yet on whether we'll see Qoros in South Africa, although the brand's links with Chery make such a move relatively plausible.