Dec 12 2015

JAPANESE brands dominate the US insurance industrys rankings of the safest vehicles for the 2016 model year.

THE Insurance Institute for Highway Safety said on Thursday that 48 vehicles earned its highest rating of Top Safety Pick Plus. Thats up from 33 a year ago. Toyota, Honda and Subaru had the most winners, with 23 combined. Volkswagen and its luxury brand, Audi, had seven winners. Volvo, Hyundai and Mazda each had multiple winners. The Chrysler 200 was the only US domestic car to earn the designation.

To be a Top Safety Pick Plus, vehicles must get the top score in all five of the groups crash tests. Winners must also offer advanced front crash prevention systems with automatic emergency braking.

The institute says several vehicles added automatic braking in 2016 so they could compete for the top prize, including the Nissan Maxima and Toyota Avalon.

Before this year, winners could get a lower score on the small overlap front crash test, which is the institutes newest and most challenging test. It replicates what happens when the front corner of a car hits a fixed object.

Some previous winners, such as the Toyota Sienna minivan, dropped off the list this year because they didnt earn the top score on that test.

Adrian Lund, the institutes president, said the group tightened its requirements in order to recognise the progress that some carmakers are making and encourage others to follow.

Rankings from the Insurance Institute which is funded by the insurance industry are closely watched by carmakers and consumers.

The Feds purchases will come at a time when the federal government has hinted it may scale back its longer-term borrowing in 2016. A Reuters poll on Dec. 4 showed brokerages that deal directly with the Fed generally do not expect the central bank to start cutting its balance sheet for at least 12 months.