Australia and New Zealand's independent vehicle safety authority, ANCAP SAFETY, has today released the highly-anticipated safety rating for New Zealand-supplied variants of the BYD Atto 3 – scoring the maximum five stars. The Volvo C40 Recharge has also been awarded the maximum five-star safety rating for both the Australian and New Zealand markets.

The battery electric BYD Atto 3 Small SUV scored well in each of the four key areas of assessment with New Zealand variants achieving a five-star ANCAP safety rating. This rating applies to both the Standard Range and Extended Range NZ variants.

Full scores were achieved for protection provided to the driver in the side impact and far-side impact tests. Whiplash protection for front and rear seat occupants also scored well, and maximum points were achieved for the protection of child occupants in the side impact and frontal offset crash tests.

The active safety capability of the Atto 3 was shown to be of a high standard, with the standard-fit pedestrian and cyclist-detecting autonomous emergency braking system offering good levels of performance in forward, reverse, daytime and night-time test scenarios.

"This five-star ANCAP safety rating for the BYD Atto 3 will no doubt come as welcome news to New Zealand buyers looking for a safe and green choice within its price-point," said ANCAP Chief Executive Officer, Carla Hoorweg.

Within the same Small SUV market segment, both single and twin motor variants of the Volvo C40 Recharge arrive with five-stars.

Maximum points were awarded to the Volvo C40 Recharge for protection offered to the driver and front passenger in the frontal offset test, and for the driver in the full width frontal test, side impact test, oblique pole test, and both of the far-side impact tests. These scores were however offset by the full 4.00 point penalty applied for vehicle-to-vehicle compatibility, with the C40 Recharge presenting a higher risk to occupants of an oncoming vehicle, if struck.

As with the Atto 3, maximum points were achieved by the C40 Recharge for the protection of child occupants in the side impact and frontal offset crash tests.

Examining the C40 Recharge's active safety capability, full points were scored for its ability to maintain its intended lane of travel and avoid run-off-road crashes through its lane support system (LSS) functionality. The C40 Recharge's autonomous emergency braking capability also scored well.

"Today's ratings see another two fully-electric five-star vehicles added to the market," Ms Hoorweg said.

Australian-supplied BYD Atto 3 vehicles are currently unrated. ANCAP is working with BYD to finalise the applicability of a rating for Australian-specified models.

Full details on the BYD Atto 3 rating applicable in New Zealand can be viewed at http://ancap.link/s/c500d0

Full details on the Volvo C40 Recharge rating can be viewed at http://ancap.link/s/fcf71f