THE all-electric BMW i5 executive saloon has received top safety marks from assessors on three continents.

The car was praised by Euro NCAP as well as safety experts in the United States and South Kores.

Euro NCAP awarded the eighth generation of the BMW 5 Series saloon the highest rating of five stars.

All driver assistance systems used in the new BMW 5 Series are among the best on the market and impressed Euro NCAP safety experts with their range of functions and reliable responses.

The new BMW 5 Series saloon also scored points in the area of passive safety with its integrated safety concept, which was being further developed by BMW.

The US Insurance Institute for Highway Safety also gave the i5 the best rating as Top Safety Pick+. The standard assistance system for preventing frontal accidents was particularly convincing, which achieved excellent ratings in both day and night tests.

It is the highest award that this institute awards.

And in South Korea the i5 was rated "Safest Car of the Year" by the KNCAP.

The independent testers were particularly impressed by the performance of passive safety. They saw 99.5 per cent of these met. In Korea full points were still scored for emergency braking systems to protect pedestrians and cyclists. Some driver assistance systems also received the maximum rating.

At the official presentation of the award in Korea, Dominik Schuster, head of vehicle safety at the BMW Group, emphasised the importance of the award saying: "Top KNCAP ratings underline our safety-focused development process and prove the BMW Group's commitment to continuous improvement of vehicle safety."