Long confined to very specific models, speed limitation is now back at the heart of the European automotive debate. Road safety, regulatory constraints and the explosion in the cost of driving aids are reshaping the industry’s choices, particularly for small cars. How far can speed be limited to make cars safer, more accessible… and still desirable?
More structuring European regulations
Since the gradual entry into force of the EuropeanGeneral Safety Regulation (GSR), carmakers have been operating in a much more restrictive environment. This regulation requires all new types of vehicle, and then all new registrations, to be fitted with a series of advanced driving assistance systems designed to reduce the number and severity of accidents.
These include Intelligent Speed Assist (ISA), autonomous emergency braking, lane keeping assist, driver attention monitoring and event data recorders. The European Union’s stated objective is clear: to halve the number of road deaths by 2030 compared with 2020. But this move upmarket in terms of safety comes at a cost, which is particularly noticeable in the entry-level segments.
The ISA, an aid tool under debate
The ISA uses road signs and maps to inform the driver of the current speed limit, warn him or her if he or she is overtaking and, in some cases, exert resistance on the accelerator pedal. However, the European text specifies that the driver must always be able to regain control and deactivate the function, at least partially.
It is precisely this « assistive » philosophy that is fuelling the debate. For the European institutions and many road safety associations, ISA represents a major lever for reducing speeding, which still accounts for a large proportion of fatal accidents. Others, on the other hand, believe that the margins left for deactivation and the technical tolerances may limit the real impact on behaviour.
Industrial and previous costs
As well as safety, the economic issue has become central. The accumulation of compulsory ADAS is clearly weighing on the development and production costs of vehicles, particularly low-margin internal combustion or electric city cars. The result is rising prices, which are sometimes difficult to reconcile with the promise of an affordable new car. Against this backdrop, Fiat recently put forward a radical proposal. The manufacturer intends to limit the top speed of certain city cars to 118 km/h in order to simplify some of the equipment required and reduce costs. The idea has not yet been adopted at regulatory level, but it sends out a strong political signal, pointing to the limits of a uniform tightening of standards for all segments.
Although Fiat’s proposal is the subject of debate, the principle of voluntary speed limits is not new. Volvo led the way in 2020 by limiting the top speed of all its models to 180 km/h, a decision that was seen as a safety choice in line with its objective of zero deaths on board its vehicles. Renault and Dacia have followed suit (excluding Alpine models), citing changing customer expectations. According to the brands, top speed is no longer a decisive criterion when it comes to range, energy efficiency or electrified applications. So far, these decisions have not had a significant negative impact on sales, which tends to make the principle commonplace.
A debate still open in Brussels
At this stage, there is no official derogation authorising a reduction in safety requirements in exchange for a generalised restraint system. Analysts believe that Fiat’s proposal is more a lever for discussion with the European authorities than an immediate roadmap. A central question for both the industry and the public authorities remains: « How can we reconcile safety, accessibility and social acceptability when the car industry is entering the era of electrification and increased regulation? Speed limits, long seen as a non-issue, could well become one of the symbols of this new European automotive equation.
Sources: ACEA – Volvo – Fiat
