Only half of the UK’s top 10 best selling new cars have autonomous emergency braking as standard fitment, warns Thatcham Research, which is lobbying for safer cars.

And only one of the top 10, the Mercedes-Benz C-Class, has AEB standard across every derivative in its range, which Thatcham claims is “worrying”.

It says AEB has been shown to reduce low-speed crashes by up to 40% by automatically braking to avoid a collision if the driver hasn’t reacted.

AEB is still not available at all on more than half of all new cars (52%) on sale in the UK and the best-selling models need to be setting an example to change this, said Thatcham Research chief executive Peter Shaw:

“It is right to acknowledge the achievements of car makers in providing us with safe cars that offer excellent protection in the event of a crash, with eight of the top 10 best-sellers having Euro NCAP 5 star ratings.

“However, preventing the crash from happening in the first place now must be the focus and that starts with having AEB as standard.

“Prioritising fitment to the best-sellers will make the biggest contribution to reducing the number of crashes on our roads, as well as encouraging other car makers to follow suit.”

The Ford Fiesta, the most popular new car sold, doesn’t have AEB as standard and offers it as a cost option on half its model range.

The Vauxhall Corsa, second most popular, is not available with AEB at all.

“With combined sales of the Fiesta and Corsa totalling over 100,000 in the first 6 months of this year alone, there’s a great opportunity to provide standard fit crash prevention for the masses,” says Shaw.

Superminis are likely choices of car for young, inexperienced drivers who are 26 times2 more likely to be involved in a crash. Yet, the size and price of a car do not have to be barriers to AEB fitment, says Shaw: “Honda has shown that standard fit AEB safety at supermini price level is achievable, with the new Jazz having it across the entire range.”

Shorter model replacement cycles may make it easier for car makers to upgrade their safety offer and Thatcham Research believes that they must take more advantage of these opportunities.

“The new Fiesta is expected next year and gives Ford the opportunity to redress the balance by making AEB standard,” said Shaw. “And having already shown with the Astra that it recognises the value of the technology, Vauxhall should be targeting at least a similar level of fitment on all future versions of its other models.”

Thatcham Research is calling on all car makers to embrace the highest levels of active safety technology. Shaw said: “Vehicle manufacturers could choose to publicly commit to making AEB standard by 2022 on all new cars sold in the UK. Twenty of the best-known car brands have already done exactly that in the United States and we’d welcome the same commitment in the UK.”