- Euro NCAP gave the £38k electric vehicle’s assisted driving technology a ‘Not recommended’ rating
BYD’s £38,000 Atto 3 electric SUV has received the worst possible ratings for one of its assisted driving features from a leading automotive safety body.
Euro NCAP tested the Chinese electric car’s suite of technologies and issued a “Not Recommended” rating for one particular feature – the lowest possible score it could give to any new model.
It’s the first time an assistance system has received such a low rating since it began testing this type of technology in 2020. Here’s why it got such a low rating…
Vehicle safety organization Euro NCAP has given the £38k BYD Atto 3 a ‘Not Recommended’ rating for one of its assisted driving features – the lowest possible score. We explain why…
The Atto 3 family SUV was launched in the UK in 2023 by Chinese car giant BYD.
According to Euro NCAP, the BYD Atto 3’s intelligent adaptive cruise control (ACC) failed to “correctly interpret traffic signs” and “earned a modest score in assistance competence.”
The latter refers to the system’s ability to balance driver involvement and the level of vehicle assistance provided.
But the biggest problem identified was the lack of ‘Security Backup’,
Euro NCAP said the technology failed to adequately take control in the event of an unresponsive driver encountering an obstacle on the road.
The agency explained that “in this critical scenario, the system effectively disables steering support after a prolonged period of inactivity while maintaining speed control, leaving the unresponsive driver to fend for themselves.”
This earned the Atto 3 zero points out of 25 in the ‘Unresponsive Driver Intervention’ test, while it also received ‘Weak’ and ‘Fair’ results in the system failure and collision avoidance categories, respectively, when tried.
So far, no other car has achieved this “Not Recommended” score since Euro NCAP began testing assisted driving technology in 2020.
However, the Atto 3, which launched in the UK in March 2023 and costs from £37,695 today, was previously assessed by the organization for its crash safety in 2022 and received a five-star rating (the highest star rating possible).
Euro NCAP explained on Friday that the general test carried out two years ago did not thoroughly review the car’s assisted driving functions.
However, in 2026, the safety body will take a closer look at these systems as part of its review of the way it reviews the safety of new models.
According to Euro NCAP, the BYD Atto 3’s intelligent adaptive cruise control “did not correctly interpret traffic signs” and only “earned a modest score in assistance competence.”
The safety agency claims the system “effectively disables steering support after a prolonged period of inactivity while maintaining speed control, leaving the unconscious driver to fend for themselves.”
The BYD was one of five models whose assisted driving features were most recently evaluated.
The electric BMW i5 and the Mercedes-Benz C-Class (ICE) received a “Very Good” rating, while two other electric vehicles, the Volkswagen ID.7 EV and the Volvo EC40, received a “Good” rating.
The Atto 3 is not the first electric car to receive a surprising low score when tested by Euro NCAP.
In 2021, the body carried out a review of the Dacia Spring, the UK’s cheapest new electric vehicle, and awarded a modest one-star safety rating.
It scored 49 percent for adult occupancy, 56 percent for child occupancy, 39 percent for vulnerable road users and 32 percent for safety assistance.
This is Money has contacted BYD regarding the latest Euro NCAP test result.
The Chinese brand did not want to comment.
