Each year, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) announces the Top Safety Pick and Top Safety Pick+ awards. The awards are across 12 categories, starting with small cars and working up to large pickup trucks. The strongest brand in the awards for the 2024 edition was Mazda, picking up an impressive eight Top Safety Pick+ awards – albeit with some models all riding on the same platform.
To get the Top Safety Pick+, the IIHS requires cars to pass its updated moderate overlap (implemented in 2022) front test, which uses new scoring criteria based on a revised formula and testing for the safety of second-row passengers.
Mazda
Mazda is a Japanese automaker founded in 1920 as the Toyo Cork Kogyo Co and only started producing vehicles in 1931 when it made the Mazda-Go auto rickshaw. The Japanese automaker’s first official car arrived in May 1960 when the Mazda R360 launched, starting Mazda as we know it today, although the Mazda name was only adopted in 1984. Mazda has a rich history in motorsport, including the honor of being the only manufacturer to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans with a car not powered by a reciprocating engine.
- Founded
- January 30, 1920 (as Toyo Cork Kogyo Co)
- Founder
- Jujiro Matsuda
- Headquarters
- Hiroshima, Japan
- Owned By
- Publicly Traded
- Current CEO
- Masahiro Moro
Asian Cars Dominate Once Again
Mazda picked up two Top Safety Pick+ awards in the small car category with the 2024-2025 Mazda 3 sedan and Mazda 3 hatchback, alongside the regular hybrid 2024 Toyota Prius (the plug-in hybrid Prius picked up a Top Safety Pick), the 2025 Honda Civic sedan, and the 2024-2025 Acura Integra hatchback. Honda, Hyundai, and Toyota picked up Top Safety Pick+ awards in the midsize car category with the 2024-2025 Accord, 2024 Ioniq 6, and 2025 Camry, respectively. The Camry also recently picked up CarBuzz’s first Car Of The Year Award.
Add CarBuzz to your Google News feed.
Only one luxury midsize car got the top award, and that’s the 2024-2025 Mercedes-Benz C-Class. Then, only the Toyota Crown got an award in the regular large car category and was the Top Safety Pick, not the Pick+. In the large luxury car category, there are only three Top Safety Pick+ awards, and they go to Genesis with the Electrified G80, the regular G80, and the G90 sedans.
The small SUV category has a lot of Top Safety Pick+ awards, notably including a couple of electric cars – the Genesis GV60 and Hyundai Ioniq 6.
SUVs And Pickups
Mazda picked up another two there with the 2024-2025 CX-30 and CX-50. Mazda also picked up four Top Safety Pick+ in the jam-packed midsize SUVs for the 2024-2025 CX-70 and 2025 CX-70 PHEV, and the corresponding CX-90 models. Our overall Budget Car Of The Year award winner, the Nissan Kicks, picked up a Top Safety Pick award.
Related
One Country Is Dominating American Safety Ratings… And It’s Not The US
American automakers are getting their butts kicked in the safety department. So who’s winning, and what’s their secret to making the IIHS happy?
Midsize luxury SUVs see another strong showing from Genesis with three models, the regular and plug-in hybrid GV70 and the GV80. Things get more interesting when it gets to large SUVs, where the only award winner is the Rivian R1S. In large pickups, Rivian’s R1T is joined only by the Toyota Tundra. There were only Top Safety Pick awards in the minivan and small pickup categories, going to the Honda Odyssey, Toyota Sienna, Hyundai Santa Cruz, and Toyota Tacoma.
Source:
IIHS
