Twelve electric cars and SUVs qualified for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s 2026 Top Safety Pick awards.
The numbers made up more than a quarter of the group’s 45 Top Safety Pick+ designation, which is the highest award from the insurance industry group. The Ford Mustang Mach-E was the only fully electric car among the group’s Top Safety Pick winners, which is its second highest award.
The findings come as interest in electric cars has picked up as the average price of gas rose to $3.99 on March 27. That’s up from $3.91 one week ago on March 20.
IIHS said it would like to see carmakers improve safety across all types of vehicles.
“This year, we’re asking automakers to make excellent protection for back seat passengers the norm,” IIHS President David Harkey said. “For TOP SAFETY PICK+, we’re requiring crash avoidance systems that are better at preventing pedestrian crashes as well as higher speed crashes with other vehicles.”
The USA TODAY Cars team took a look at the IIHS rankings and compiled a list of the safest electric cars on the market.
1. 2027 Audi A6 Sportback e-tron
MSRP: $66,700
IIHS Safety Rating: Top Safety Pick+
What they said: Audi did not comment on their 2026 IIHS recognition.
2. 2026 Genesis GV60
MSRP: $58,000
IIHS Safety Rating: Top Safety Pick+
What they said: Genesis said in a press release when several of its cars won 2025 Top Safety Pick that the designation “positively promotes Genesis’ reputation as a manufacturer of safe vehicles in the U.S. market. This is because American consumers trust the IIHS’s scientific and systematic safety evaluation methods.”
3. 2026 Hyundai Ioniq 5
MSRP: $36,600
IIHS Safety Rating: Top Safety Pick+
What they said: Hyundai said in a press release, “This recognition highlights Hyundai’s dedication to achieving and maintaining the highest safety standards in the automotive industry.”
4. 2026 Hyundai Ioniq 9
MSRP: $60,555
IIHS Safety Rating: Top Safety Pick+
What they said: Hyundai said in a press release the “2026 TSP+ awards are given to vehicles that meet rigorous criteria set by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), including advanced crashworthiness and occupant protection requirements.”
5. 2026 Kia EV9
MSRP: $60,555
IIHS Safety Rating: Top Safety Pick+
What they said: SeungKyu (Sean) Yoon, president and CEO of Kia North America and Kia America, said in a press release, “expanding our IIHS recognition across more models reflects how we’re prioritizing protection as the agency’s standards in safety continue to evolve.”
6. 2027 Audi Q6 e-tron
MSRP: $64,500
IIHS Safety Rating: Top Safety Pick+
What they said: Audi did not comment on their 2026 IIHS recognition.
7. 2027 Audi Q6 Sportback e-tron
MSRP: $68,300
IIHS Safety Rating: Top Safety Pick+
What they said: Audi did not comment on their 2026 IIHS recognition.
8. 2026 Genesis Electrified GV70
MSRP: $76,740
IIHS Safety Rating: Top Safety Pick+
What they said: Genesis said in a press release when several of its cars won 2025 Top Safety Pick that the designation “positively promotes Genesis’ reputation as a manufacturer of safe vehicles in the U.S. market. This is because American consumers trust the IIHS’s scientific and systematic safety evaluation methods.”
9. 2026 Rivian R1S
MSRP: $75,900
IIHS Safety Rating: Top Safety Pick+
What they said: Rivian said in a press release “to date, R1S is the only vehicle in the large SUV category built by an American automotive company to receive the 2026 TOP SAFETY PICK+ designation (as of March 2026).”
10. 2026 Volvo EX90
MSRP: $78,090
IIHS Safety Rating: Top Safety Pick+
What they said: Volvo did not comment on its 2026 IIHS awards.
11. 2026 Tesla Cybertruck
MSRP: $79,990
IIHS Safety Rating: Top Safety Pick+
What they said: Tesla said in a Tuesday, March 24 X post “Cybertruck is extremely safe.”
12. 2026 Ford Mustang Mach-E
MSRP: $40,595
IIHS Safety Rating: Top Safety Pick
What they said: Ford CEO Jim Farley said in an X post when the Mustang Mach-E won a previous Top Safety Pick award in 2024 “keeping our customers safe is essential, so this recognition is important to @Ford and our team.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Here are the 12 safest electric cars money can buy in 2026
Reporting by Keith Laing, USA TODAY / USA TODAY
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
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