The electric BYD Seal sedan has received a five-star rating from ANCAP ahead of local deliveries beginning in December.

Its five-star rating is based on the latest 2023-25 testing criteria, and applies to all members of the Seal range.

It received an adult occupant protection rating of 89 per cent, a child occupant protection rating of 87 per cent, a vulnerable road user protection rating of 82 per cent, and a safety assist rating of 75 per cent.

ANCAP recorded Good ratings for child occupants in frontal offset and side impact tests, and it received full points for protection of the driver and child passengers in the side impact test and the driver in the oblique pole test.

It recorded Adequate ratings for protection of the driver’s chest and lower legs in the frontal offset test, and for the rear passenger’s chest in the full-width test.

Per the latest testing criteria, ANCAP also assessed the Seal’s ability to detect a cyclist passing the vehicle from the rear and warn the occupants accordingly.

The Seal has an audible warning to prevent what’s referred to as “dooring”, though the car won’t physically stop you from opening the door into the path of a cyclist.

Appropriately for a vehicle called the Seal, the electric BYD was subjected to submergence tests. ANCAP found the Seal’s doors could still be opened for the minimum required time period – two minutes – after vehicle power is lost following its entering a body of water.

“Our 2023 test and rating criteria have introduced further requirements for high levels of structural protection as well as new challenges for manufacturers in the area of active safety systems and, pleasingly, the three models rated so far this year have each achieved five-star ratings,” said ANCAP chief executive officer Carla Hoorweg.

“This is a trend we’d like to see continue as we finalise testing and assessments on a number of new models later this year.”

Standard safety equipment includes:

• Autonomous emergency braking (forward and reverse)
• Adaptive cruise control
• Blind-spot monitoring
• Front and rear cross-traffic assist
• Lane-keep assist
• Emergency lane-keep assist
• Rear cross-traffic assist
• Traffic sign recognition
• Intelligent speed limit assist
• Surround-view camera
• Front and rear parking sensors
• Dual front airbags plus driver’s far-side airbag
• Side and curtain airbags for both rows
• Safe exit warning
• Rear occupant alert

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