BYD Sealion 5 gets ‘mid’ safety ratings from Australasian NCAP

MANILA: The BYD Sealion 5 got a three-star safety rating from the Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP).

The test done by the organization covers models built from August 2025 until January 2026 and spans all variants of the mid-size sport utility vehicle (SUV). 

In the four categories used by the ANCAP to assess the BYD Sealion 5, the plug-in hybrid vehicle scored lowest in Safe Driving and Crash Avoidance and performed adequately in Crash Protection and Post Crash sections.

Here is a breakdown of the nameplate’s scores:

• Safe Driving: 48 percent
• Crash Avoidance: 51 percent
• Crash Protection: 79 percent
• Post Crash: 74 percent 

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ANCAP report 

According to ANCAP, the BYD Sealion 5 scored only 48 percent in the Safe Driving tests due to its inability to “detect and classify the stature of occupants in front seating positions, monitor seatbelt misuse, or detect a front-seat passenger sitting ‘out-of-position.’” 

In addition, the organization noted that “control of the vehicle’s speed, once a speed limit was identified, was not sufficiently accurate to earn full points.”

Broken down, the data shows only 23 percent for “occupant monitoring,” 66 percent for “driver engagement,” and just 55 percent for “vehicle assistance.”

Crash Avoidance-wise, ANCAP cited the BYD Sealion 5’s “limited ability to avoid collisions through AEB (autonomous emergency braking) in low-speed situations,” and that while the vehicle was equipped with reverse AEB “this only avoided collisions in a limited number of test scenarios.”

Moreover, the midsize SUV’s “lane support system demonstrated limited performance in preventing lane departures across the assessed scenarios.” 

As such, its scores in Crash Avoidance can be broken down into 68 percent for “frontal collisions,” 37 percent for “lane departure collisions,” and just 17 percent for “low-speed collisions.”

When it comes to Crash Protection, the BYD Sealion 5 showed “a higher risk of injury to the driver’s chest and lower legs, and to the front passenger’s neck,” with structures from the instrument panel and dashboard being “a potential source of injury for the driver and front passenger.”

On that note, it earned 71 percent in the “frontal impact” tests, 93 percent in the “side impact” tests, and 87 percent for the “whiplash (rear impact)” tests for a total of 79 percent. 

Finally, the BYD Sealion 5’s Post Crash results appear to be acceptable. However, ANCAP noted that it is not equipped with an eCall functionality and did not demonstrate that its windows would remain functional if the vehicle became submerged in water.

Additionally, as a plug-in hybrid model, the voltage level of the BYD Sealion 5 did not reduce to the required level within the specified time during the full-width frontal test—resulting in a penalty, score-wise.

The breakdown for the test is 100 percent for “rescue information,” 20 percent for “post-crash intervention,” and 83 percent for “extrication.”

BYD Sealion 5 in PH 

The BYD Sealion 5 is available here in the Philippines and carries a starting price of P1.268 million.

Power comes from the Chinese manufacturer’s Super DM-i hybrid system comprised of a permanent magnet synchronous motor at the front wheel axle with energy supplied by a 1.5-liter high-energy generator. 

The said setup makes some 194 horsepower and 300 Newton-meters of torque. Range-wise, it pushes up to 71 kilometers (km) using electric power alone, with a combined range of 1,001 km with the internal combustion engine in play.

It uses the BYD Blade battery, rated at 12.96 kilowatt-hours and supports 3.3-kilowatt alternating current charging, which takes around 4.5 hours to go from 15 percent to full charge. 

Stopping power comes from disc brakes on all four wheels with MacPherson struts and multi-link setups managing the vehicle suspensions, front and back.

Also read:

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Updated BYD Seal 5 DM-i covers more than 2.1K km on a single full tank

BYD Cars PH launches all-new Atto 2, updated Seal 5 DM-i

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