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Is BYD about to go on a massive ute offensive?
Fresh spy photos published by CarNewChina show a heavily camouflaged BYD ute, which features more SUV-like looks compared to the burly appeal of the Shark 6.
Is this potentially a new SUV-based ute, in a similar vein the current Ford maverick or the former Holden Commodore ute, or is it a China-specific version of the Shark 6?
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Much of the rear of the vehicle looks like the Shark 6, but the front end has new styling reminiscent of some of the Chinese makers vehicles in its home market.
The Shark 6, which currently is not on sale in China, could be getting toned down styling to suit the country's tastes. The version on sale in Australia and other export markets is pitched towards the butch American-style pick-up looks preferred abroad.
The other option is a more lifestyle ute focused more on city driving. This means ditching the workhorse ladder-frame chassis that underpins the Shark 6 in favour of a softer SUV platform.
BYD’s soon-to-be former importer EVDirect had previously expressed interest in a full-size ute to sit above the Shark 6. This ute is not that.
Last year EVDirect CEO, David Smitherman, said to CarsGuide the only way to go in the ute segment is up, especially if sales of the Shark 6 take off in the way that the company is hoping for.
“But, you can see that the range of different (types of) utes in Australia is significant,” said Smitherman.
“We've had significant interest from fleets around (the Shark 6 and future variants there-of) …and around full-sized utes as well.
“And you know how passionate I am with my prior history about the full-sized ute segment,” he said.
The Shark 6 has had meteoric success in Australia in the first few months on sale. More than 6000 examples of the ute have found a new home through the first four months of this year.
This is due to its sharp $57,900 (before on-roads) price tag and game-changing plug-in hybrid seat-up.
The Shark 6 combines a 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol and dual electric motors that provide all-wheel drive grip and deliver 321kW and 650Nm.
This is paired with a circa-29.5kWh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery. This can be replenished with a max 7kW AC charge or 55kW when hooked up to a DC fast charger.
BYD claims the Shark 6 can be driven up to 100km on pure electric power and drinks 2.0L/100km for a total driving range of 800km. If you have less than 20 per cent battery the engine will drink a claimed 7.9L/100km.
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