Chery, China’s biggest car exporter, has just been handed one of the worst crash test results of the year. Latin NCAP, the independent safety programme for Latin America and the Caribbean, gave the Chery Tiggo 2 zero stars, with 0% for both adult and child occupant protection and a fire risk recorded in the frontal crash.
The rating covers the whole family sold in the region: the Tiggo 2, Tiggo 2 Pro and Tiggo 2 Pro Max, plus the Chirey Tiggo 2 sold in Mexico. The car is built in China and is the cheapest SUV in Chery’s Tiggo range. It is also the first car tested under Latin NCAP’s tougher 2026 protocols, which makes the result even more visible.
The scores
| Latin NCAP area | Chery Tiggo 2 score |
|---|---|
| Adult occupant | 0% |
| Child occupant | 0% |
| Pedestrian protection and vulnerable road users | 48.89% |
| Safety assist | 45.45% |
| Overall rating | 0 stars |
The tested car had four airbags and electronic stability control (ESC) as standard. It went through frontal and side impacts, whiplash tests for front and rear seats, pedestrian protection, ESC checks and the moose test.
What went wrong in the crash tests
- Unstable body structure. In the frontal crash both the structure and the footwell area were rated unstable, and the driver’s chest took high compression.
- Fire risk. The car showed a fire risk during the frontal test, which Latin NCAP says endangers both passengers and first responders. Together with the chest result, this pushed the adult score to zero.
- No side head protection. Curtain airbags are not standard, so the pole impact test was not carried out and the car was penalised.
- Weak rear seats. There are no pretensioners or load limiters in the back, and the car could not prove protection for a small female adult in the second row. Whiplash protection was marginal to poor.
- Child safety failures. The 10-year-old dummy recorded high head and neck loads, the 3-year-old dummy showed head exposure and an ejection risk in the side impact, and the i-Size anchorages failed Latin NCAP’s requirements.
- No driver assistance at all. There is no automatic emergency braking, lane support, blind spot detection or speed assistance, not even as an option. Only the seatbelt reminder earned full points.
“This is an appalling result and an affront to consumers across Latin America and the Caribbean.”
Stephan Brodziak, Latin NCAP Chairman
Latin NCAP Secretary General Alejandro Furas said most carmakers are already following the new protocols, but “clearly the Tiggo 2 is not the case,” adding that the result puts Chery in the spotlight in one of the region’s most popular segments. The organisation is again calling on governments to introduce mandatory safety labels based on independent tests.
Why this matters for Chery
Latin America is a key export market for Chery: according to CarNewsChina, the company shipped more than 115,000 cars to Central and South America in the first half of 2026 alone. The Tiggo 2, known in China as the Tiggo 3x, is a small SUV of about 4.2 metres built mainly for emerging markets in Latin America, Southeast Asia and the Middle East, where low price matters more than a long equipment list.
The timing is also bad. Earlier in October Chery Auto Malaysia launched a recall of 8,878 Omoda 5 SUVs (C and H variants) after the rear axle assembly of one car separated on the road in Johor Bahru on October 6. Malaysia’s Road Transport Department temporarily suspended the model’s type approval and new registrations. Chery chairman Yin Tongyue later apologised publicly and said the company wants to “put down roots” abroad rather than chase quick profits.
NihaoCar’s take
Chinese brands have spent years proving that their cars can earn five stars in Euro NCAP, and many of them do. A zero-star result for a cheap export model shows the other side: some cars built for price-sensitive markets still skip basic safety kit that buyers in China and Europe take for granted. For Chery, which is pushing hard to become a global brand, fixing the Tiggo 2 quickly, at least with standard curtain airbags and a stronger structure, now looks like a must.
Sources: Latin NCAP, CarNewsChina, Chery Auto Malaysia, Paultan.org.
