A lot of people are already looking forward to the local arrival of the BYD Shark 6 DMO next month. It’s the Chinese carmaker’s first pickup offering, and the plug-in hybrid powertrain is expected to set this truck apart from its diesel-powered competitors.
Now, there’s one more thing to be excited about in this model: It has just been given a five-star safety rating by the Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP). Let’s look into the category scores.
The Shark 6 scored 85% in adult occupant protection, taking 34.37 out of 40 points. It achieved a protection rating of ‘good’ in the frontal offset test for all key body regions except for the driver’s chest, which was deemed ‘adequate.’ An eight-point penalty was applied, however, because the pickup “poses a higher risk to occupants of oncoming vehicles” as a result of its “size, weight, and front-end design.”
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In the full-width frontal test, rear passenger chest and neck protection were deemed ‘marginal’ and ‘adequate,’ respectively, while driver neck and chest protection were rated ‘adequate.’ Protection for other critical body areas were rated ‘good.’ For reference, the tested unit came with dual front, side chest, and side airbags, plus a center airbag for front occupant protection during side-impact crashes.
For child occupant protection, the Shark 6 got 43 out of 49 points, for a score of 87%. It claimed maximum points for front and side impact tests that assessed protection for six- and 10-year-old passengers. The testing body noted that the vehicle is equipped with a child presence detection (CPD) system, which adjusts the air-conditioning to cool down the cabin if it detects an unattended child; however, no points were given because “the alert sensitivity of this CPD system...does not meet ANCAP’s functional requirements.”
Of the four categories, it was in vulnerable road user protection that the Shark 6 got the lowest score of 74%, taking 47.14 out of 63 points. The performance of the automatic emergency braking (system) was deemed ‘marginal’ in backover/reversing tests, but it fared better in forward tests as well as in scenarios involving cyclists and motorcyclists. A ‘dooring’ alert also prevents disembarking occupants from hitting a bicycle approaching from behind.
Finally, the Shark 6 scored 86% in safety assist, with 15.59 out of 18 points. The tested spec was equipped with a seatbelt reminder, driver monitoring to detect drowsiness and distraction, lane-keep assistance, intelligent adaptive cruise control, speed-limit info, and AEB for collision avoidance. In various AEB scenarios like car-to-car, junction, crossing, and head-on tests, its performance was deemed ‘good.’
“With five of BYD’s current local models having now earned top ANCAP safety ratings, it’s evident that new manufacturers are prioritizing safety as they enter the market to align with consumer demands,” said Carla Hoorweg, CEO of ANCAP.
Watch: BYD Shark 6 DMO performance in ANCAP test
