Plug-in hybrid utes getting cheaper as Ford cuts price of older Ranger PHEVs and 2026 JAC Hunter and GWM Cannon hybrids arrive to battle BYD Shark 6 | Analysis

A new ute price war is forming as rivals pile in to battle the smash hit petrol-electric ute of the past 18 months.

The BYD Shark 6 ute’s arrival in Australia in late 2024 was a moment in time for the local new vehicle market, with the petrol, dual-motor powered plug-in hybrid (PHEV) soon upsetting the seemingly rock solid Ford Ranger / Toyota HiLux duopoly at the top of the 4x4 ute category.

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But so far it’s barely made a blip on the new vehicle radar map, to the point where ‘MY25.75’ and prior examples have been marked down to a recommended drive-away price of $62,000, a chunky 14 per cent reduction from its previous sticker of $71,990. And that’s before taking into account the latter number did not include on-road costs.

That price is available to private as well as fleet and government buyers and shifts cost-of-entry for a Ranger PHEV into the same ballpark as the mid-tier Shark 6 Premium (about $62,900 drive-away).

The entry-grade Lux version of the petrol-electric GWM Cannon Alpha PHEV kicks off at $61,490, drive-away, and the just-released JAC Hunter is lining up for a super-aggressive “less than $50K drive-away”.

Toyota, so well known for hybrid tech across its passenger car and SUV line ups, has so far only offered a relatively timid 48V mild-hybrid version of its diesel HiLux, starting at $57,990, before on-road costs.

Which leaves a four-way PHEV ute cage fight between the BYD Shark 6, Ford Ranger, GWM Cannon Alpha and JAC Hunter.

But wait, there’s another combatant due to step into the octagon before the end of this year, the diesel-electric Chery ‘KP31’ - yet to be named, but Orca is looking likely. Get it? Orca, higher up the predatory food chain than Shark.

And with a petrol-electric version set to follow sometime in 2027 there’s no doubt (given the way Chery has repositioned the small SUV market with its Tiggo 4) it will be priced to take a sizeable bite out of the opposition.

GWM is also preparing a plug-in hybrid version of its cheaper and smaller Cannon ute for later this year to complement the Cannon Alpha workhorse.

Stand by for further price movements and positioning tweaks in this ongoing PHEV ute conflict.