The BYD Sealion 5 has been given a three-star safety rating by independent vehicle safety body, the Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP), making it the first model from the Chinese automaker to fall short of a five-star rating.
A rival to mid-size plug-in hybrid SUVs like the Toyota RAV4 and Mitsubishi Outlander, the Sealion 5 was one of the first models vehicles tested under more stringent new ANCAP assessment protocols introduced in 2026, formulated in partnership with its European affiliate, Euro NCAP.
The results mean the Sealion 5, launched in Australia in 2025, has been awarded the Chinese brand’s lowest ANCAP rating yet, and it’s applicable to both the Essential and Premium model grades offered in local showrooms.
Indeed, the Sealion 5 is now the only BYD in Australian showrooms tested by ANCAP not to have a full five-star rating, including its lowest-priced model, the Atto 1 electric hatchback, which recently became Australia’s cheapest new vehicle outright with a $19,990 drive-away promotion.
BYD told CarExpert in 2025 it chose the Sealion 8 large plug-in hybrid SUV to be crash-tested by ANCAP under the outgoing assessment protocols, under which it achieved a five-star result, and withdrew previous plans to have the Sealion 5 tested by ANCAP.
That meant the Sealion 5 was not put forward by the automaker for testing by the safety organisation, leaving it without an ANCAP rating. ANCAP told CarExpert earlier this year the Sealion 5 was high on a ‘hit list’ of models it wanted to evaluate.
“BYD continues to be proactive in bringing forward models for ANCAP testing,” said ANCAP CEO Carla Hoorweg in a statement.
“However, the Sealion 5 was a model the brand hadn’t actively pursued for testing and was subsequently selected by ANCAP to ensure consumers have a clear picture of its safety performance.”
BYD Australia has issued an offical response to the test result, telling CarExpert: “The Sealion 5 is a safe vehicle that complies with all Australian Design Rules and regulatory safety standards. ANCAP introduced an updated testing protocol in 2026, with a strengthened assessment criteria compared to the 2023-2025 protocol, which was applicable to the Sealion 5 at the time of its global introduction.
“The current rating reflects this new standard, not any change in BYD’s commitment to safety. Every other BYD vehicle tested by ANCAP has been awarded a five-star rating, which speaks to this commitment.”
The Sealion 5’s shortcomings came in the Crash Avoidance and Safe Driving sections of ANCAP’s testing regime, in which it scored 51 per cent and 48 per cent respectively, according to the ANCAP report.
Key among the issues was that the Sealion 5’s emergency lane-keeping system did not intervene when tested in ‘road-edge’ scenarios.
“Unintended lane departures are a major contributor to road trauma in Australia, accounting for 42 per cent of fatal crashes and 55 per cent of fatalities resulting from light-vehicle crashes,” the ANCAP report said.
The Sealion 5 was further marked down for a lack of child presence detection, which has been assessed since 2023. Such detection systems are designed to warn a driver if an infant has been left inside a vehicle when they exit.
ANCAP also noted the Sealion 5 doesn’t come with a seatbelt misuse alert, which warns if a seatbelt is not worn incorrectly. The SUV also lacks an emergency ‘e-call’ function that automatically alerts emergency services in the event of a serious collision.
The Sealion 5 is also missing ‘stature classification’, which determines vehicle occupant size to enable restraints, such as seatbelts, to respond appropriately for greater effectiveness.
ANCAP also noted the Sealion 5 does not have low-speed pedal-misapplication protection, a system which suppresses engine power if the accelerator is pressed when a pedestrian or other object is ahead of the vehicle.
The Sealion 5 isn’t alone in the category in lacking a five-star safety rating, as the latest-generation Toyota RAV4 introduced in 2025 is currently ‘unrated’.
Toyota Australia told CarExpert it expects to have the RAV4 tested by the end of 2026 under the new protocols, and the Japanese brand is working on achieving a five-star rating.
The Sealion 5’s sub-standard ANCAP rating was announced at the same time as another BYD model, the M9 PHEV people mover, was awarded five stars by ANCAP.
Evaluation of the M8 resulted in a 100 per cent score for Post Crash safety, and an 89 per cent score for Crash Protection, which includes evaluating children in child restraints as well as vulnerable road users.
In the remaining two test areas, the M9 attracted a strong 78 per cent score for Crash Avoidance and 75 per cent in the Safe Driving tests.
“Both the M9 and Sealion 5 have been tested against our latest 2026–2028 star rating requirements,” Ms Hoorweg said.
“These requirements continue to encourage balanced safety performance across all four stages of assessment, with the Sealion 5 not able to match the safety offering of its stablemate.”
We’ve asked BYD Australia for comment and will update this article accordingly.
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