IIHS unveils new EV ratings

IIHS unveils new ratings for seven electric vehicles

September 16, 2025

Five out of seven electric vehicles recently tested by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety boast award-worthy performance in a key crash test, while two others struggle with protection for back seat passengers.

Four 2025 models - the BMW i4, Chevrolet Blazer EV, Tesla Cybertruck and Volkswagen ID.Buzz - earn good ratings in the moderate overlap test. The Tesla Model 3 is rated acceptable. The rating for the Cybertruck applies to models built after April 2025, when changes were made to the front underbody structure.

All these vehicles provide excellent protection for the driver and solid protection for rear passengers. In the case of the Model 3, however, measurements taken from the rear dummy indicate a somewhat elevated risk of chest injuries due to high belt forces.

The Ford F-150 Lightning and Nissan Ariya, which earn ratings of poor and marginal, respectively, also offer good protection for the driver but fall short when it comes to protecting passengers in the rear.

The Ariya's restraints worked well to control the motion of the rear dummy during the crash, but injury metrics showed a high risk of chest injuries.

In the F-150 Lightning, measurements taken from the rear dummy showed a high risk of not only chest injuries but also injuries to the head or neck. In addition, the rear dummy's lap belt moved from the ideal position on the pelvis onto the abdomen, which increases the risk of internal injuries.

The moderate overlap front test represents an offset crash between two vehicles traveling in opposite directions. The test vehicle strikes a stationary barrier at 40 mph with 40% of its front end overlapping the barrier.

Today's models almost all offer good front-seat protection in this kind of crash. Back seat performance, which IIHS started evaluating in 2022, is what differentiates vehicles.

New ratings in the pedestrian crash prevention evaluation are also available for the i4, Lightning, Cybertruck and Model 3, which earn good ratings, as well as the ID.Buzz, which is rated acceptable. The Blazer EV previously earned an acceptable rating, while both the standard and optional systems available on the Ariya previously earned ratings of good.

When it comes to headlights, none of the vehicles in the group earn good ratings. However, five of the seven vehicles come exclusively with acceptable-rated headlights.

The outliers are the i4, which is available with marginal or poor headlights, and the Cybertruck, which comes only with poor-rated headlights.

In IIHS testing, neither of the BMW's two headlight systems provided adequate illumination on the high-beam setting, and the poor-rated version offered with the eDrive35, eDrive40 and xDrive40 trims also created excessive glare with the low beams.

The Cybertruck's headlights were also downgraded because the low beams created excessive glare.

Only the Ariya and Blazer have undergone all the tests required for the Institute's Top Safety Pickand Top Safety Pick+ awards, but neither meets the criteria. The Blazer misses the mark due to an acceptable rating in the small overlap test, while the Ariya's marginal rating in the moderate overlap test prevents it from qualifying.

Though they are still missing some other results, the headlight ratings of the i4 and Cybertruck and the moderate overlap rating of the Lightning eliminate those models from consideration for an award as well.

Both awards require good ratings in the small overlap and side crash tests, acceptable or good ratings for the headlights offered with all trims and an acceptable or good rating in the pedestrian crash avoidance test. A rating of acceptable in the moderate overlap test is needed for the lower-tier Top Safety Pickaward, and a good rating is required for the "plus."

Available ratings for the seven EVs in all those tests as well as for vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention, seat belt reminders and LATCH ease of use can be found in the table below.