The BYD Sealion 5 plug-in hybrid received a three-star safety rating from Australia’s ANCAP, with shortcomings in driver-assistance assessments limiting its overall result. ANCAP said the vehicle’s crash-protection performance was strong enough for a four-star outcome, but its performance in other areas kept the final rating lower.
Under ANCAP’s updated assessment rules, introduced this year, the Sealion 5 scored 48% for Safe Driving and 51% for Crash Avoidance. The organisation found that the vehicle could not identify front-seat occupants’ posture, detect improper seat-belt use or recognise when a passenger was seated in an unsafe position, such as with their feet on the dashboard.
ANCAP also reported limited low-speed crash-avoidance capability from the automatic emergency braking system. Its assessment covered scenarios involving a vehicle turning across the Sealion 5’s path and an approaching motorcycle. The model scored 79% for Crash Protection and 74% for Post-Crash performance.
For five stars under the new criteria, vehicles must achieve at least 80% in both Crash Protection and Post-Crash, 60% in Safe Driving and 70% in Crash Avoidance. The Sealion 5’s scores therefore fell short in each of the four areas required to meet that threshold.