ANCAP has given BYD’s M9 plug-in hybrid people mover five stars, but the Sealion 5 SUV managed only three, the first time a BYD has missed the top score.
BYD’s perfect ANCAP record now has its first mark against it. The safety body has rated two of the brand’s plug-in hybrids under its 2026-2028 criteria, and the results are far apart. The M9 people mover gets the full five stars. The Sealion 5 mid-size SUV gets three. That makes it the first BYD rated by ANCAP to miss the maximum score.
A Test BYD Didn’t Ask For
How the Sealion 5 came to be tested matters. ANCAP chief executive Carla Hoorweg said BYD has regularly put its models forward for testing since arriving in 2022. In that time it has become Australia’s second-best-selling brand.
The Sealion 5 was different. BYD hadn’t sought a rating for it, so ANCAP chose the car and tested it anyway. Hoorweg said independent selection like this helps buyers see how models compare when they otherwise might not know.
Where the Sealion 5 Falls Short
Crash protection for adults and children was reasonable. However, ANCAP’s new virtual and sled tests found that protection dropped for larger occupants and in more severe impacts.
The bigger weaknesses were in crash avoidance and safe driving. In road-edge tests, the emergency lane keeping system did not step in at all. ANCAP has encouraged this feature since 2018, and it matters. According to Monash University research cited by ANCAP, unintended lane departures account for 42% of fatal light-vehicle crashes in Australia and 55% of the deaths in them.
The Sealion 5 also lacks several safety features:
- Child presence detection , which ANCAP has assessed since 2023
- Seatbelt misuse alert , which warns when a belt is worn incorrectly
- Stature classification , which lets the restraints adjust to the occupant’s size
- Low-speed pedal-misapplication , which cuts power if the accelerator is pressed by mistake with a pedestrian ahead
ANCAP notes that several of these come on the M9 and other current BYD models. The Sealion 5 does have post-crash features such as battery thermal management and multi-collision braking, but it has no eCall. The three-star rating covers both the Essential and Premium variants.
The M9 Sets the Family Benchmark
The M9 did much better. Autonomous emergency braking and lane departure prevention worked well in many of the test scenarios. Driver distraction monitoring, stature classification and child presence detection all performed well too.
Occupant injury risk was low in almost every area, and the M9 scored a perfect 100% for post-crash safety. Large families should note two weak spots, though. Whiplash protection in the third row was only marginal. Many child seats also couldn’t be fitted correctly to the third row’s left outer tether point. The five-star rating only applies to seven-seat versions.
Why the Split Matters
ANCAP judged both cars against the same tougher 2026-2028 rules. These reward strong results across all four areas of assessment. The M9 shows BYD can meet that standard. The Sealion 5 shows that reasonable crash-test results no longer earn a car five stars on their own. For buyers, a brand’s safety record doesn’t carry over to every model it sells. It’s worth checking the rating for the exact model and variant on your shortlist.
