GM EV1 Crash Test

GM EV1 NHTSA crash test.

I've posted ad nauseum about electric car crash tests from the 1970s and early 1980s; back then, they were usually conversion jobs of gas vehicles, they didn't do well in crash tests, etc. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, gas was expensive, making electric cars an appealing proposition for many. When gas prices fell in the 1980s and stayed low through the early 2000s, interest in electric cars waned somewhat, but electric vehicles were still being produced throughout this time frame.

The EV1, produced by General Motors, was one of these vehicles. Produced from 1996-1999, it was the first mass-produced, purpose-built electric vehicle built by a major manufacturer.

Previous electric vehicles from major manufacturers, such as the 1993-1995 Chrysler TEVan, had been based on existing designs (for instance, in the TEVan's case, Chrysler's existing minivan design). The EV1, however, was designed from the ground up as an electric vehicle. It came with dual air bags as standard equipment, as required by federal standard.

It was also put through the standard 35 mph full frontal NHTSA crash test - a 1997 model EV1 went through the test on May 27, 1998. The EV1 was not tested in the then-relatively new NHTSA side or IIHS offset crash test.

Structurally, the EV1 performed adequately; the driver's door was difficult to open and the passenger's door opened easily after the crash. The steering column moved about 2 inches upward and 2 inches rearward. Footwell intrusion was minor.

However, forces on the dummies were relatively high for the time period. At the time, the average vehicle scored a lower-end 4 star* out of 5 rating in the NHTSA full frontal crash test. The EV1's driver performance wasn't far behind, managing a high-end 3 star rating, but the passenger barely squeaked out that 3 star rating. The passenger's HIC on the EV1 was third-worst of the 35 vehicles tested for the 1997 model year. While the EV1's performance was below average, it was not an outlier; several vehicles tested that year had even worse performances in the 1 to 2 star range.

Here are the exact numbers:
Average 1997 vehicle: Driver HIC 691, Chest G's 50. Passenger HIC 649, Chest G's 50.
Severe injury risk: 18% driver, 17% passenger.
1997 GM EV1:            Driver HIC 749, Chest G's 54. Passenger HIC 1,085, Chest G's 56.
Severe injury risk: 22% driver, 35% passenger

There are no more operating EV1s on the road; GM only allowed customers to lease the EV1, and all EV1s were taken off the road in 2003. Nevertheless, the EV1's safety is a valuable intermediate data point between the circa 1976-1982 electric car group and today's electric cars.

*NHTSA grading system at the time:
5 star - 10% or less severe injury risk
4 star - 11-20% severe injury risk
3 star - 21-35% severe injury risk
2 star - 36-45% severe injury risk
1 star - 46% or higher severe injury risk