EV safety ratings 2026 — NHTSA & IIHS, compared honestly

There's no single 'safest' — but the strongest evidence is an IIHS Top Safety Pick+ award, which is harder to earn than a NHTSA 5-star rating. EVs holding TSP+ in the current (2026) cycle include the Tesla Model Y and Cybertruck, Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Ioniq 9, Genesis GV60 and Electrified GV70, Kia EV9, Audi Q6 e-tron and A6 Sportback e-tron, Rivian R1S, and Volvo EX90. Several of those also carry NHTSA 5-star ratings. We list each model's exact awards above rather than crown one winner, because 'safest' depends on body style, the specific tests you weight, and your own driving.

Nine electric SUVs hold the IIHS's toughest award for 2026, Top Safety Pick+: the Audi Q6 e-tron, Genesis GV60, Hyundai Ioniq 5, Hyundai Ioniq 9, Kia EV9, Tesla Model Y, Volvo EX90, Genesis Electrified GV70 and Rivian R1S. Seven of them also have NHTSA's 5-star overall rating; the Genesis Electrified GV70 and Rivian R1S have no NHTSA overall rating. The Ford Mustang Mach-E is a 2026 Top Safety Pick, one level down, with 5 NHTSA stars. Another ten electric SUVs have NHTSA's 5-star overall rating but no 2026 IIHS award: the Acura ZDX, Audi Q4 e-tron, Cadillac Lyriq, Chevrolet Blazer EV, Chevrolet Equinox EV, Honda Prologue, Kia EV6, Lexus RZ, Nissan Ariya and Volkswagen ID.4. The Acura ZDX, Honda Prologue, Nissan Ariya and Volkswagen ID.4 are discontinued, though new stock may still be at dealers. Neither NHTSA nor IIHS ranks vehicles that earn the same result, so there is no single "safest" electric SUV; the section above lists each model's ratings with the model year they apply to.

Yes. Eleven EVs hold the IIHS's toughest 2026 award, Top Safety Pick+: nine SUVs (the Audi Q6 e-tron, Genesis GV60, Hyundai Ioniq 5, Hyundai Ioniq 9, Kia EV9, Tesla Model Y, Volvo EX90, Genesis Electrified GV70 and Rivian R1S), the Audi A6 Sportback e-tron sedan and the Tesla Cybertruck pickup. The Ford Mustang Mach-E is a 2026 Top Safety Pick. Nine of these twelve also have NHTSA's 5-star overall rating. Among sedans still on sale without a 2026 IIHS award, the Lucid Air and Tesla Model 3 have NHTSA's 5-star overall rating. IIHS files the Rivian R1S and Tesla Cybertruck awards under the 2026-27 model years, and the Audi Q6 e-tron, Tesla Model Y and Audi A6 Sportback e-tron awards under the 2027 model year. The full table on this page lists every model, with the model year each rating applies to.

For the people inside, EVs test very well: they resist rollover unusually well thanks to a low, battery-laden floor, and the ones US agencies have rated score at or near the top. Two honest caveats: their extra weight raises the risk to occupants of lighter vehicles they strike (a concern the IIHS and NTSB have raised), and battery fires — while less frequent than gas fires per vehicle — are harder to extinguish. Net: EVs are as safe or safer for their own occupants, with a couple of genuine trade-offs.

No — that's largely a myth, and it's usually backed by a widely-shared statistic that mixed incompatible datasets. National fire-authority data (for example Sweden's MSB) finds fully electric cars catch fire substantially less often than gas or diesel cars per vehicle. What is true is that an EV battery fire is harder to put out and can reignite later, so the firefighting challenge is real even though the frequency is lower. Plug-in hybrids, not pure EVs, show the highest fire rates.

Crash testing is expensive, so NHTSA and the IIHS prioritize high-volume models. Many new, luxury, or low-volume EVs — think Lucid Gravity, most Mercedes EQ models, the Porsche Taycan, BMW iX, and brand-new 2026 arrivals — simply haven't been independently tested in the US yet. An unrated EV isn't unsafe; it just hasn't been put through these specific tests. Manufacturers still have to meet all federal safety standards to sell the car.

No. NHTSA's 5-star is a US government rating that most modern vehicles earn — it's more of a safety floor. The IIHS (funded by insurers) runs tougher, more discriminating tests and adds requirements for good headlights and crash-prevention tech, so far fewer vehicles qualify for its Top Safety Pick, and fewer still for Top Safety Pick+. When a model has both, the IIHS award is the more demanding badge.

Not to you — the heavier vehicle's occupants are generally better protected. The concern, raised by the IIHS and NTSB, is for everyone else: in a collision a heavier vehicle puts more force on the lighter one. It's a weight issue, not strictly an EV issue (big gas trucks do the same), and the IIHS notes the protective benefit largely plateaus once a vehicle passes the roughly 4,000-pound fleet average — which most EVs already exceed.