European car safety agency snubs BYD’s Atto 3 driver assistance system

MILAN (Reuters) – Europe’s car safety agency has issued a “not recommended” rating to the driver assistance system used in BYD’s Atto 3 EV, dealing a blow to the Chinese automaker as it strives to expand on the continent.

The model scored zero on driver monitoring features and performed poorly in preventing undertaking at speeds over 90 kilometres per hour (56 miles per hour), among other shortcomings, according to the Oct. 23 report from the European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP).

Euro NCAP ratings are not binding as it does not certify vehicles for road use. But European consumers pay attention to its findings and carmakers aggressively market good ratings.

The agency also concluded that Atto 3’s driver assistance system failed to meet the minimum standards for measures taken in critical situations to avoid a collision.

BYD declined to comment.

Chinese automakers have been touting high ratings from Euro NCAP as a key endorsement of their products as they try to win over European consumers.

BYD, which has been leading Chinese carmakers’ push into Europe, hailed the Atto 3 as one of the safest models when it was awarded a maximum five-star rating by Euro NCAP in 2023.

Separately, Euro NCAP gave high ratings on the driver assistance systems used by European models it tested, including the BMW i5, Mercedes-Benz C-class, Volkswagen ID.7, and Volvo EC40.

(Reporting by Giulio Piovaccari and Zhang Yan; Editing by Mark Potter)