What acronym denotes the European car safety rating program?

The acronym for the European car safety rating program is Euro NCAP, short for the European New Car Assessment Programme.

Euro NCAP is a voluntary vehicle-safety assessment organisation that publishes consumer-facing ratings for passenger vehicles sold in Europe. It conducts controlled tests and evaluates areas such as adult occupant protection, child occupant protection, vulnerable road-user protection, and safety-assistance technology. Results are commonly presented as a star rating.

The programme was formed in 1996, and its first results were released in February 1997. It began with strong involvement from the UK Transport Research Laboratory and later gained backing from European governments, the European Union, motoring organisations, and consumer groups. Its headquarters are in Leuven, Belgium.

Euro NCAP is not the same as legal type approval. Type approval establishes the minimum requirements for a vehicle to be sold in the European market, whereas Euro NCAP generally uses more demanding tests to compare vehicles and encourage manufacturers to exceed the legal baseline. ANCAP is the comparable programme for Australia and New Zealand; NHTSA and IIHS are major U.S. safety organisations.