The one car BYD needs! Why the rising brand needs a hot version of the 2026 BYD Shark 6 ute to take on the Ford Ranger Raptor | Opinion

The one car BYD needs!

Blame Jurassic Park.

Ever since Steven Spielberg’s iconic dinosaur movie hit the big screen, everyone has been afraid of Raptors. And not just the dinosaurs, because despite it being more than seven years since Ford launched the Ranger Raptor, nobody has been brave enough to take it on.

But there is an obvious brand that should. BYD needs to build its own apex predator — the BYD ‘Great White’ Shark 6.

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Read more about BYD Shark 6

As we continue our summer series looking at the missing pieces from several big name brands, today we’re talking a look at BYD, because the Chinese brand has enjoyed significant growth in recent years and is looking for an even bigger 2026 with the arrival of the Atto 1, Atto 2, Sealion 5 and Sealion 8.

2026 BYD Shark 6

There has also been a lot of talk about expanding the Shark 6 line-up, but so far only a ‘more premium’ version and some stripped out variants to appeal to fleet buyers. The brand has, like every other brand that makes utes, deliberately avoided specifically mentioning any direct rival to the Ranger Raptor.

With good reason, the Raptor has become a new benchmark in the ute market - not only in terms of performance, both on and off-road, but also the money buyers are willing to spend on a ute.

It is both a great concept and a well-executed one, with the second-generation Raptor a leap forward from the already-impressive original.

So why should BYD be the first to truly take it on head-to-head? Because it already has the foundations for a proper performance ute. The plug-in hybrid powertrain already makes 321kW of power and 650Nm of torque, which is more than the 291kW/583Nm offered up by the 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6 petrol engine in the Ranger Raptor.

2026 BYD Shark 6 (Image: Glen Sullivan)

Of course, engine performance is only a part of the Raptor’s success, with the real difference maker being the incredibly effective suspension set-up. Ford has decades of off-road desert racing experience to draw on, but BYD clearly has plenty of resources. The fact the company created the Shark 6, and hit the mark so accurately it is already regularly amongst the best-selling utes each month, is proof of that.

Make no mistake, I’m not suggesting this would be easy, but it would give BYD a true hero model that would have an impact on the overall brand perception and that will trickle down the entire range, all the way down to the Atto 1.

Plus, Great White Shark is such a perfect name it would be a shame to waste it.