Are electric cars safer than internal combustion engine cars? The Australian Collision Safety Agency has

It turns out that one is statistically safer than the other—but not more secure, and there are several reasons for that

If you’re on the fence about choosing your next new car, safety may be an important consideration. If you’re considering switching from an internal combustion engine to an electric vehicle, you may be wondering how much safer (or riskier) an electric vehicle is than an internal combustion engine vehicle. That’s the question the folks at ANCAP (Australian New Car Assessment Program) have tried to answer, and the results may be surprising.

Based on its own crash test data, ANCAP ruled that, yes, electric cars score better in crash tests than combustion engine cars. But there’s a caveat: namely, the key word is “proportionally higher.”

READ: These two cars earn shocking zero-star safety ratings

In short, a total of 57 electric cars passed the ANCAP test, of which only six failed to achieve the maximum score. But when it comes to cars with internal combustion engines, the group is even larger: 18 out of 117 cars with internal combustion engines failed to achieve a perfect score.

While statistically more five-star electric vehicles have been tested than five-star internal combustion vehicles (89% vs. 85% respectively), the difference is not that huge. There are other factors to consider. First, most electric cars are relatively new models. Newer cars equal newer safety technology, which often comes into play in these tests. Additionally, most of the EVs tested had higher MSRPs and were naturally loaded to the rafters with crash protection.

Meanwhile, contenders in the ICE pool are cheaper entry-level cars that failed ANCAP testing, including the Mahindra Scorpio, MG5 (zero stars each) and Suzuki Swift (one star). Three star ICE cars such as the Hyundai i30 sedan, MG3, Jeep Gladiator and Jeep Wrangler failed to help the cause.

Meanwhile, Australia and New Zealand have no EVs on sale that are awarded zero, one or two stars. The lowest prices you can get are for four-star examples, specifically the BMW i4, Hyundai Kona Electric, Fiat 500e, Opel Mokka and Citroën C4 (the latter two are only sold in New Zealand). The only three-star electric car on sale in Australia is the Jeep Avenger.

Speaking to Drive, ANCAP CEO Carla Hoorweg said that in terms of overall safety, the gap between electric cars and internal combustion engine cars is not that big. But when it comes to price, since EVs are more expensive, it doesn’t make sense to sell low-scoring EVs: “I would say there’s probably another factor in that… how are you going to sell it from a sales perspective if you’re going to “If you bring a one-star electric car into Australia, it’s an expensive product.”