Five-star rated: BYD Sealion 6 impresses at ANCAP safety test

In our most recent experience with the BYD Sealion 6, we were left with a lot of positive impressions about how it drives and how efficient it was when we drove it from Manila to Ilocos Norte and back. Now, it has also proven that it’s one of the safest vehicles on the market today.

The BYD Sealion 6 has been awarded a maximum five-star safety rating by the Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP). The ANCAP safety rating was based on testing conducted on the BYD Seal-U battery electric vehicle available in the European market where additional tests were performed to determine if the results also applied to plug-in hybrid variants.

Based on the ANCAP official images, it looks like the tests were done in the China Automotive Engineering Research Institute (CAERI) but with categories mandated by the ANCAP regulations.

The BYD Sealion 6 received full points for the protection of critical body regions in the frontal offset test, with the exception of the driver’s lower legs, which were rated as 'adequate'. The driver’s chest was also rated as 'adequate' in both the full-width frontal and oblique pole tests, while all other evaluations demonstrated good protection for the driver and passengers.

Meanwhile, the Sealion 6's autonomous emergency braking (AEB) system was rated 'good' for detecting vulnerable road users, including pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists. However, its reverse AEB function received a 'marginal' rating.

Overall, BYD’s hybrid crossover garnered category scores of 88% for its adult occupant protection (AOP), 86% for child occupant protection (COP), 83% for vulnerable road user protection, and 75% for its safety assist systems.

With minimum scores of 80% in AOP, 80% in COP, 70% in VRUP and 70% in SA required to achieve a five-star rating under the latest ANCAP criteria, the BYD Sealion 6 satisfied all four assessment domains to be given maximum stars.

This makes the BYD Sealion 6 the fourth BYD model to score five-star crash test results, joining the Atto 3, Dolphin, and Seal.