BYD SUV gets three star safety rating
BYD’s streak of five-star ANCAP Safety ratings has come to an end with the plug-in hybrid Sealion 5 mid-size SUV being awarded just three stars under ANCAP Safety’s tougher new 2026-2028 testing criteria. The Sealion 5 is the first BYD model tested by ANCAP Safety to miss out on five stars, breaking a streak that’s held across every other BYD sold in Australia.
According to ANCAP Safety, the Sealion 5’s occupant protection in crash testing was respectable, with both adult and child occupants reasonably well protected – though newer Virtual and Sled test assessments showed that protection eased off for larger occupants and under higher-severity test conditions.
The SUV really fell down in Crash Avoidance and Safe Driving, scoring just 51 per cent and 48 per cent respectively. The standout failure was the Sealion 5’s emergency lane-keeping system, which did not intervene at all during ANCAP Safety’s road-edge test scenarios. ANCAP Safety has been encouraging this capability since 2018, as unintended lane departures account for 42 per cent of fatal crashes and 55 per cent of fatalities in light-vehicle crashes on Australian roads.
The SUV also lost points for lacking several features standard on other BYD models, including child presence detection, seatbelt misuse alerts, stature classification, and low-speed pedal-misapplication protection.
BYD’s Response and the M9 People Mover
BYD Australia pushed back on any suggestion the result reflects declining safety standards, telling media the Sealion 5 is a safe vehicle that complies with all Australian Design Rules (ADRs) and regulatory safety standards. They noted that ANCAP Safety introduced an updated testing protocol in 2026, with a strengthened assessment criteria compared to the 2023-2025 protocol.
In contrast, BYD’s M9 people mover achieved a five-star rating in the same assessment round. This seven-seat PHEV includes features encouraged by ANCAP Safety’s 2026-2028 criteria, such as stature classification, child presence detection, and a driver distraction monitoring system.
ANCAP Safety CEO Carla Hoorweg emphasized that the differing results highlight the purpose of the updated testing regime, which promotes balanced safety performance across all assessment stages. She also acknowledged BYD’s growing impact on the Australian and New Zealand car markets.
The three-star rating for the Sealion 5 covers both the Essential and Premium variants sold locally, and the result may prompt some buyers to ask why several safety features are missing, given that they are already standard on other BYD models.
ANCAP Safety’s testing of the Sealion 5 also revealed that it misses out on automatic eCall functionality, but it does offer features including battery thermal management and multi-collision braking.
The M9 people mover, on the other hand, comes standard with a suite of features that ANCAP Safety has been encouraging, including stature classification and child presence detection.
Comparison with Other Models
The current RAV4 generation, introduced in 2025, remains unrated by ANCAP. The Sealion 5’s rating is notable in the context of other models in its segment.
