National crash test auditor says Chinese make’s plug-in hybrid SUV could have done better.

SHORTCOMINGS in crash avoidance and safe driving features have proven costly for one of the latest BYD cars to come here.

In its audit of the Sealion 5, New Zealand’s national crash test agency ANCAP - full name, Australasian New Car Assessment Programme - has determined a score of three stars from a possible five.

The entry plug-in hybrid sports utility therefore becomes the first product from the major Chinese make not to achieve a top score from the agency, which bases in Australia and is part-funded by New Zealand.

Under ANCAP protocols, five stars reflects excellent safety performance and advanced crash-avoidance technology, while four stars reflects good safety, but absence of some latest features. Zero to three stars speaks to limited protection, older tech or medium to high risk of injury.

The Sealion 5, which released here in early 2026 in $40k Essential and $6k dearer Premium formats, was held back on flaws in its active safety provision and also through lacking some technology ANCAP now expects to see.

In a report shared today, the organisation said the car’s emergency lane keeping system did not intervene when the car drifted towards the road edge. Lane support overall scored 37 percent, and low-speed collision avoidance just 17 percent, with the automated emergency braking struggling in intersection and turning scenarios.

ANCAP says the model offers adult and child occupants respectable crash protection, yet overall “has not been able to match the safety offering of its stablemates.”

“This is where independent ANCAP testing provides valuable information for consumers who, without it, may be unclear as to how different models compare,” said the safety guru’s chief executive Carla Hoorweg.

ANCAP’s decision was announced in conjunction with it altering to a five star score for the M9, a large PHEV people mover BYD has notified intent to sell here but has yet to price.

Both were assessed against ANCAP’s current 2026-2028 criteria.

In all, the Sealion 5 scored 48 percent for safe driving, 51 per cent for crash avoidance, 79 percent for crash protection and 74 percent for post-crash.

The models goes without child presence detection, which ANCAP has assessed since 2023, along with seatbelt misuse alerts, occupant stature classification and low-speed pedal misapplication protection. Also absent is eCall, an automated system to alert emergency services (via a BYD operator) in event of a crash.

ANCAP also criticised the model’s driver monitoring system, saying it picked up common distractions but could not detect phone use or respond to an unresponsive driver. It also found fault with the headlight adjustment, interior lights and climate fan speed being controlled through the central screen.