A new entry-level version of the GAC Emzoom small SUV has kept its large touchscreen but lost a key safety feature commonplace in Australia – and independent safety authority ANCAP has called this a mistake.

The new Emzoom Premium shaves $4000 off the cost of entry to GAC’s small SUV, making it tied with the MG ZS Vibe as Australia’s cheapest SUV at just $22,990 drive-away.

However, GAC has brought the price down by deleting not only luxury features like a panoramic sunroof and a ventilated driver’s seat, but also by nixing seatbelt pretensioners from both front and rear seatbelts.

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Not only that, but the Emzoom – at least in Premium trim – will no longer notify drivers that rear passengers’ seatbelts aren’t fastened.

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“The omission of basic safety features like seatbelt pretensioners is a retrograde step,” said ANCAP chief executive Carla Hoorweg in a statement.

“Seatbelt pretensioners are not new or emerging technology. They have been commonplace in new vehicles since the mid-1990s.

“Recent examples have shown the consequences of omitting pretensioners and load limiters as it means the occupants travel further forward before the belt locks, exposing the chest and legs to significantly higher crash forces.

“Offering a lower purchase price should not come at the expense of proven, fundamental occupant protection features that are already available on other Emzoom variants.

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“As a relatively new brand trying to make its mark in the Australian market, ANCAP encourages GAC to reconsider.”

GAC entered the Australian market in 2025, with the Emzoom one of its three models at launch alongside the M8 people mover and Aion V electric SUV. These were joined this year by the Aion UT electric hatch.

While GAC has removed the seatbelt pretensioners in the Premium, it has retained force limiters front and rear.

Pretensioners tighten a seatbelt on impact to keep it close to an occupant’s body, while force limiters, as the name suggests, reduce the force of the seatbelt above a certain threshold.

In short, one keeps you from moving too much in a crash, and the other prevents the belt from injuring you.

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Neither feature is mandated under Australian Design Rules (ADRs), despite other ADRs mandating safety equipment such as autonomous emergency braking (AEB), and despite there being various ADRs concerning seatbelts and anchorages.

The lack of seatbelt pretensioners infamously contributed to the MG 5’s zero-star rating from ANCAP in 2023. The small sedan was subsequently updated with these added and its safety software upgraded, with ANCAP retesting it in 2025 and awarding it three stars.

It’s unclear whether GAC is planning to have the Emzoom tested by ANCAP.

The safety authority hasn’t confirmed a test is in the plans, saying only that “as with all new vehicle models sold into Australia, the GAC Emzoom is a potential candidate for ANCAP testing”.

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“ANCAP watches the market closely, and where a manufacturer chooses not to put their vehicle forward for testing, ANCAP can then select that model for testing at any point,” Ms Hoorweg added.

“With safety expectations and performance thresholds continuing to advance, there is a clear advantage in manufacturers being proactive rather than waiting for ANCAP to select their vehicle.”

Only one GAC model currently has a safety rating from ANCAP: the Aion V, which has had its five-star rating carried over from sister authority Euro NCAP. The mid-size electric SUV is sold in Europe, while the Emzoom isn’t and therefore has no Euro NCAP rating that can be carried over.

ANCAP could choose to purchase Emzooms if GAC doesn’t supply the vehicle for testing as, while some tests are fully funded by an automaker, some have a split-funding arrangement, and others are fully funded by the safety authority itself.

The safety authority, for example, purchased Mahindra Scorpios for testing in 2023. It became one of the first three vehicles to receive a zero-star rating from ANCAP, along with the MG 5 and Mitsubishi Express.

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“There’s a lot of consideration that goes into which vehicles we would actually choose to work with a manufacturer on, and which vehicles we say to them you really should be funding this yourself because if you put this forward, you’re going to get a five-star rating and you want to sell it to fleets, that’s not what our money is really for,” Ms Hoorweg told .

“There’s a strong focus for us on market coverage and obviously testing high-volume sellers gets us more market coverage, but there’s a balance as well.

“Sometimes there are vehicles that aren’t necessarily going to be best sellers but they’re particularly concerning because of the safety features that may not be present, or there may be concerns about how those features or how the structure of the vehicle might perform.

“So it’s always a balance, we’re weighing up all of those factors. What’s the segment that it’s in? How have other vehicles performed in that segment?”

The Scorpio, for example, isn’t understood to be one of the best-selling vehicles in its segment – though Mahindra doesn’t publish its sales figures in monthly VFACTS reports – but it was launched without AEB as it received vehicle type approval shortly before this safety feature was mandated by a new ADR.

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