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May 10, 2026
BYD Australia's leader, Collins, says negative headlines are part of the job for a brand moving up quickly. In an interview with CarsGuide, he responded to a vehicle-security investigation and an independent safety-rating surprise, while insisting that scrutiny is helping the company sharpen its operations.
“With success comes scrutiny and that's fine,” Collins said. “We want to be a good corporate citizen, and with scrutiny comes improvements and that's important for us.”
The comments arrive as BYD solidifies its status as Australia's second-best-selling automaker, only a few years after arriving in the country. The higher profile has made the brand a regular target of investigative reports, and the recent coverage has tested its carefully built image.
The first flashpoint was an investigation by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's Four Corners program. A security researcher was shown using a laptop to control headlights and windshield wipers on a BYD Shark 6 pickup. The demonstration was dramatic, but BYD later stressed that the exploit required prior physical access to the vehicle, which limits how easily it could be replicated in the real world.
BYD said it conducted an extensive internal investigation after the report aired. It also promised to deliver an over-the-air update to close the vulnerability, with additional fixes to be developed if necessary. For observers focused on automotive cybersecurity, the distinction matters: attacks that require physical access are serious, but they are less alarming than a flaw that could be triggered remotely on a large fleet.
The ABC report also examined BYD's privacy policy. Some language mentioned data collection in connection with “suspected illegal or improper activities” and referred to “surveillance activities.” BYD swiftly removed those passages after the story gained attention. A spokesperson for BYD Australia later told CarsGuide the company “strenuously denied” any suggestion that the policy changes were linked to the investigation.
The second controversy is harder for BYD to dismiss. ANCAP, the Australasian New Car Assessment Program, independently purchased examples of the BYD Sealion 5 mid-size SUV and gave it a three-star safety rating. That made the Sealion 5 the first BYD model sold in the region not to earn a five-star ANCAP result since the brand entered Australia in 2022.
ANCAP chief executive Carla Hoorweg explained that BYD had generally been proactive in presenting models for testing. The Sealion 5 was different because the brand had not actively pursued a rating for that model, so ANCAP bought the vehicles itself to ensure buyers had independent information.
“The Sealion 5 was a model the brand hadn't actively pursued for testing, and was subsequently selected by ANCAP to ensure consumers have a clear picture of its safety performance,” Hoorweg said.
A three-star result does not make the vehicle illegal, and it does not trigger a recall. But ANCAP scores are heavily promoted in Australian and New Zealand showrooms, so a below-top score can influence family buyers who are comparing several brands. For BYD, losing its perfect safety streak is a commercial problem, not just a public-relations headache.
The sharper scrutiny is arriving while BYD is getting closer to the top of the Australian market than most analysts expected. In one month of the 2026 sales race, BYD sold 18,881 vehicles against Toyota's 19,124, leaving the market leader with just a 0.2 percent share advantage.
That month was an unusual one. BYD received a large shipment of nearly 5,000 vehicles at the same time that buyers were looking for electric alternatives during fuel-price pressures. Toyota, meanwhile, was waiting for the next generation of its hugely popular RAV4 to arrive in showrooms, creating a temporary gap in its lineup.
Toyota still holds a comfortable annual lead, and Collins knows the race will not be decided by one strong month. He argues that BYD's next stage of growth depends on what he calls the “ecosystem”: the entire ownership experience, from the showroom to service to the moment a customer decides whether to buy another BYD.
“I think the ecosystem is really important and we've got an eye on retention of customers as well,” Collins told CarsGuide. “We know that the good brands, and Toyota is the best at it and have been for many, many years and there's a good reason for that. We know that they're the benchmark, so we've got a way to go but we have a very clear vision on what we need to do.”
He also made clear that BYD has no intention of setting a modest goal. “Anyone in anything, sport or whatever it may be would always aspire to be number one,” he said. “If you're not driven like that in such a competitive market, there's a problem.”
For U.S. readers, the Australian controversies may seem distant, but they offer a preview of the challenges facing Chinese automakers as they expand globally. BYD has not yet launched passenger cars in the United States, but its approach to software security and data privacy will be scrutinized by regulators and independent testers in any market it enters.
ANCAP's decision to buy a Sealion 5 on its own is also a reminder that safety programs are not waiting for manufacturers to volunteer vehicles. Independent testing organizations can take action when they believe consumers need answers. The same dynamic already exists in the U.S., where government safety agencies and independent groups regularly go beyond automaker-submitted data.
The broader lesson is simple: a fast-growing brand cannot rely on momentum alone. BYD's response to the hacking report, its quick removal of controversial privacy language, and its handling of the Sealion 5 rating will all be remembered by the same buyers it is trying to win from Toyota.
Collins says the company is prepared to keep improving. Whether that is enough will be decided by customers in showrooms, by regulators watching global software practices, and by continued reporting on how BYD handles the unexpected.
