What Ford really thinks of BYD’s ute: How Ford CEO Jim Farley believes the 2026 BYD Shark 6 and GWM Cannon Alpha PHEV compare to the new Ford Ranger

Although the Ford Ranger is currently the best-selling vehicle in Australia for two years running, there's no denying BYD has had a lot of success with the Shark 6 plug-in hybrid (PHEV) ute.

It’s even more of a big deal when Ford CEO Jim Farley comes to Australia to test it out, along with other key rivals to see how they stack up against the Ranger.

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“The [BYD] Shark is a ute, but if you put 500kg in the back, it’s not a Ranger, it’s not a HiLux.

“But for someone who doesn’t do that every day and they want electrification, you know, it’s a pretty competitive product.

“I have no idea how they make money.

“The Great Wall [Cannon Alpha PHEV] is a very competitive product and I’ve talked to a lot of customers of both and those customers are very educated.

“Yet again, [BYD and GWM] haven’t been doing it like our Ranger or the HiLux for decades, so they don’t have all the chassis and all the towing payload and all the experience.

“So they’re coming at it with a huge deficit, but it’s a good, solid, competitive product.

“I mean I much prefer the Ranger for real work. It’s no competition, but not everyone in [Australia] buys a Ranger to do the kind of work that we design it for.

“There’s a lot of different kinds of customers here.”

The BYD Shark 6 ute is by far the best-selling PHEV ute currently in Australia. In 2025 a total of 18,073 examples were sold, making it BYD’s best-selling vehicle for the year, while also outselling a number of diesel-powered rivals like the Mazda BT-50, Nissan Navara and Volkswagen Amarok.

While it has a body-on-frame chassis, the Shark 6 has an electric-heavy PHEV powertrain layout with no driveshaft down the middle of the vehicle and no locking differentials. It also has a slightly reduced braked trailer towing capacity of 2500kg.

GWM has had success to a lesser extent with the Cannon Alpha PHEV in Australia, but due to how its PHEV drivetrain is configured, it allows for a mechanical four-wheel drive system plus a higher 3.5-tonne braked towing capacity.

It’s worth noting the Ford Ranger PHEV also has a similar PHEV layout as the Cannon Alpha PHEV and similarly allows for a segment-meeting 3.5-tonne braked towing capacity and a mechanical four-wheel drive system.

Ford doesn’t publicly disclose sales figures that split out Ranger PHEV sales from the wider Ranger family, which now also includes the beefy Ranger Super Duty. It’s therefore unclear how popular the Ranger PHEV has been in Australia to date.

On paper, where the Ranger PHEV is let down over the Shark 6 and Cannon Alpha PHEV is pure-electric range. It only offers up to 49km of electric range, whereas the Shark 6 offers 100km and the Cannon Alpha PHEV offers 115km, all according to NEDC testing.

Another notable disadvantage for the Ranger PHEV over the BYD Shark 6 and GWM Cannon Alpha PHEV is pricing.

The Ranger PHEV currently starts at $71,990, before on-road costs, for the XLT and extends to $79,990, BOC, for the Wildtrak.

The Shark 6 on the other hand is currently offered in one trim level, priced at $57,900, drive-away.

The Cannon Alpha PHEV starts at $51,490, drive-away, and extends to $58,490, drive-away, thanks to a pricing offer that’s set to end at the end of March.