Safety auditor ANCAP gives BYD’s new ute a strong score, but also questions elements of the design and technology.

FIVE stars but with flaws - that’s the interpretation of how New Zealand’s first plug-in hybrid electric ute has fared in a nationally-prioritised independent safety assessment.

The Australasian New Car Assessment Programme, which bases in Melbourne and is the crash test safety protocol recognised by New Zealand and Australia, has given the BYD Shark 6 a maximum safety rating.

The five star achievement means China’s first electric-assisted ute here is one of only four utes to achieve top marks on the current standards.

The others are the GWM Cannon Alpha, JAC T9 and Mitsubishi Triton. Ford Ranger, Mazda BT-50/Isuzu D-Max and Toyota Hilux, are like-accredited, but were earned their stars when the test was less strenuous than it is now.

In announcing the Shark 6’s performance scores today, ANCAP nonetheless also made clear it has issues.

In particular it made clear the BYD’s Child Presence Detection system fitted to the utility “does not meet ANCAP's functional requirements”.

As such, it received a zero score for that area of assessment, when was an amendment to an initial child occupant protection score of 95 percent.

This was altered at the last minute due to complications with the CPD technology, which is capable of activating the air-conditioning system to cool the cabin if it detects someone sitting in the rear after the vehicle has been turned off.

ANCAP also expressed view about the Shark’s large mass – it clocks 2710kg kerb weight – and blocky front fascia as detrimental factors in the event of a vehicle-to-vehicle collision.

The organisation says that “due its size, weight and front-end design”, the vehicle poses a higher risk to occupants of oncoming vehicles, resulting in the full 8.00 point penalty being applied in a frontal impact assessment that is about vehicle-to-vehicle compatibility, called the MPDB test. the letters stand for Mobile Protection Deformable Barrier.

The Shark’s adult occupant protection test and safety assist assessment yielded 85 and 86 per cent scores respectively.

In vulnerable road user protection assessment, the Shark achieved a 74 percent score, matching the Mitsubishi, but behind the GWM (82 percent) and JAC (87 percent).

ANCAP also called out ‘marginal’ performance in the BYD for rear autonomous emergency braking. The pedestrian, cyclist and motorcyclist detection were considered ‘good’.

BYD New Zealand has not provided comment about the assessment.