BYD Australia is confident its upcoming Atto 1electric hatchback – which is tipped to become Australia’s cheapest electric vehicle (EV) when it arrives in showrooms next month – should achieve top safety marks, based on its performance in Euro NCAP testing.
The 2026 BYD Atto 1 will be priced from as little as $25,000 when it’s launched in November, but it recently achieved a maximum five-star Euro NCAP safety rating against the latest 2025 assessment criteria, and given ANCAP’s criteria is generally aligned with its European affiliate, the pint-size electric hatch should get a similar rating here.
Known in Europe and the UK as the Dolphin Surf, the Euro-spec Atto 1 achieved an 82 per cent score for adult occupant protection, 86 per cent for child occupant protection, 76 per cent for the protection of vulnerable road users like pedestrians and cyclists, and 77 per cent for the performance of its safety assist systems.
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Should the Atto 1 attract similar scores from ANCAP, it would become one of the few mainstream hatchbacks in the light-car class in Australia with a five-star result.
The ageing Mazda 2 is currently unrated, the Suzuki Swift was recently upgraded to three stars, and the MG 3 was recently upped to four stars, leaving the Toyota Yaris as the only direct competitor currently offered with a five-star rating, albeit based on 2020 assessment criteria.
At the premium end of the light passenger car category, the Skoda Fabia and related Volkswagen Polo both have five-star ANCAP ratings, dated 2021 and 2022 respectively.
The Hyundai Inster EV, while classified as a light SUV according to VFACTS segmentation, is arguably the Atto 1’s closest competitor in terms of size and packaging, but it only achieved a four-star rating under ANCAP’s and Euro NCAP’s latest assessment regime.
Stay tuned to CarExpert for the latest on BYD’s new models in the coming weeks.
MORE: Explore the BYD showroom
