Last month, BYD, the world’s fastest-growing carmaker, announced that it would launch its first ute into the Australian market to compete with best-sellers like the Toyota Hilux and Ford Ranger.
With early numbers shared by BYD’s local distributor, over 10,000 expressions of interest have been collected, making it the most anticipated Australian-delivered product from the Chinese new energy vehicle (NEV) juggernaut.
The Shark 6, however, is not fully electric, like BYD’s other offerings in Australia, which include the Atto 3, the Seal and the Dolphin. It’s a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) with an EV-only mode rated at around 100 kms – though probably closer to 80 kms in real use situations – from its 29.56 kWh battery.
Will it win over the battery electric skeptics? Quite possibly, judging by the huge amount of interest. And, having driven the Ford Ranger daily with engineering work over a decade ago, I was looking forward to getting behind the wheel of the Shark 6 to see what BYD have come up with on their first go.
Have they nailed it?
The market will decide. But it has a fair bit of electric range, some great performance features, towing capacity and vehicle to load to power a tradies’ tools. And, with the hybrid set-up, it means that the overall range is up to 800kms.
Here are some key takeaways from what could be the first ute to offer BYD Seal-like comfort and technology, while displacing sales from large-volume ICE ute models like the Ford Ranger and Toyota’s Hilux, which often rank as the two best selling cars in Australia on a monthly basis.
The Shark’s got a big jaw
Locally, the dual-cab Shark ute will be available in a single Premium variant at launch, offering a feature-packed product with a fairly aggressive styling, the work of Wolfgang Egger, BYD’s head designer, who was previously at Audi and Lamborghini.
He says he took inspiration from the jaws of a shark with its mouth open. Hence the presentation of the front headlights and daytime running lights (DRL) with the big BYD logo in the centre.
Image: Riz AkhtarThis shark theme continues on the roof, and the shark-fin antenna sits at the rear of the roofline.
Along the sides, there are some rugged sidesteps as the aggressive front leads to a more conventional ute body. These side steps are helpful in getting in and out of the ute, given its height and the fact that the battery is on the vehicle’s floor.
At the rear, there is also a large BYD logo stamped into the tailgate, along with a brake light LED strip that runs along the width of the ute. There is also an integrated rear-view camera in the tailgate, which helps provide a 360-degree view of the car from the inside.
Opening the tailgate is easy thanks to the button on top of the gate, which leads to a lined rear bed.
Tonneau cover options will also be available at launch, with details to be shared closer to the end of the month.
Spaceship interior design with tech not yet seen in utes
Getting into the Shark 6 with its conventional handles is pretty straightforward, but that’s where the similarities with other utes on the market stop.
The interior starts with really plushy seats, which reminds me of the BYD Seal, which is arguably one of the most comfortable electric sedans on the market.
The steering wheel was well proportioned with orange stitching and clear matte coated buttons, yes physical buttons, dials and switches that sit on the steering wheel.
These not only allow for infotainment system controls but also for on-road and off-road modes, which the Shark comes equipped with.
Behind the steering wheel is a good-sized screen that can display key on-road/off-road driving information along with a map view if needed.
Looking at the centre console, there are some tactile buttons and switches which give the vehicle a real rugged feel on the inside.
The star in the cabin, though, is the large infotainment screen with lots of functionality and tech seen in other BYD vehicles.
This includes a 360-degree camera view on demand which was particularly helpful when driving on off-road tracks over sometimes rugged terrain.
The Shark 6 ute I tested appeared to have the latest BYD software, which has come a long way since the original Atto 3 we tested back in August 2022.
The latest software version, coupled with the high-resolution screen, makes the competition feel stuck years behind.
With over-the-air (OTA) updates on offer, it’s likely that the whole experience of ownership will always be improving.
In the back, there is plenty of room for a passenger, and having driven around the hills around Marysville in Victoria, it was very comfortable on and off-road.
Plug-in Powertrain – Pure EV mode must be experienced
BYD Shark 6 is a PHEV ute, and BYD is not sugarcoating that. Getting behind the wheel in the Pure-EV mode, it drove like any other BYD product with smooth power delivery from its dual-motor powertrain.
The suspension felt very modern and took bumps very well, certainly not like the Ford Ranger I had years ago. The on-road experience was also balanced and did not feel floaty, which could be expected in many utes.
The DM-O tech underneath this ute will offer one of the longest electric-only ranges in its class thanks to a 29.58 kWh BYD blade battery. It has an EV-only range of up to 100 km, which in the real world is likely to be 80 km, plenty for most daily drives.
This blade battery pack will feed the two electric motors on the front and rear axles. The front motor will deliver 170 kW and 310 Nm, while the rear motor can output up to 150 kW and 340 Nm.
This battery pack can be fast-charged at around 55 kW on a DC charger, so charging 30-80% can be done in about 25 minutes. As standard, there is a CCS2 port located on the right side of the vehicle.
Combined, the Shark 6’s drivetrain delivers 320 kW of power and offers a combined range of 800 km. The battery pack in the ute can also be charged by the ute’s 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine.
In Pure-EV mode, I tested its acceleration on some flatter off-road trails, and it does throw you back into the seat, hitting 100 km/h from a standstill in around 5.7 seconds.
Vehicle to load (V2L) is also available, making it possible to charge other equipment when on a work site or out camping.
Speaking of the V2L, there are plugs in three different locations, including the tray in the back, highlighting the thought that’s gone into designing this ute for practical use.
With that power, the Shark 6 is capable of braked towing 2.5 tonnes, and these specifications have been confirmed for the only local variant.
For comparison, the upcoming Ford Ranger PHEV offers 3.5 tonnes of towing capacity but lacks the electric-only range limited to just 45 km.
I also switched the Shark 6 to its Hybrid EV (HEV) mode to try the difference, which turned the combustion engine on to charge the battery, which ran down to about 60% in the drive by that stage.
What was clear is that this ute is designed to be with an EV-first powertrain and opens the possibility for a full BEV version down the track.
Although the pricing is yet to be released, it must be competitive to outsell the incumbent utes while delivering on its clean vehicle credentials. The pricing should be under $65,000 before on-road costs, putting it on par with the competition.
BYD Shark 6: A cleaner ute offering
Given the lack of EV options for fleets and businesses that have delayed their transition from dirtier diesel utes, the Shark 6 could be the first practical use that could move that needle.
We all know what happens when they finally experience the EV drivetrain; it’s very hard not to want to charge it daily to save on fuel while powering equipment on-site or on weekends away from experiencing the outdoors without the rattle of an ICE vehicle.
Given the time I spent with the vehicle, it gave a good glimpse into the highlights of the BYD Shark 6. One thing is for sure, it’s the first ute to offer a cleaner powertrain with comfort and tech found in the latest premium EVs.
Riz is the founder of carloop based in Melbourne, specialising in Australian EV data, insight reports and trends. He is a mechanical engineer who spent the first 7 years of his career building transport infrastructure before starting carloop. He has a passion for cars, particularly EVs and wants to help reduce transport emissions in Australia. He currently drives a red Tesla Model 3.