Towing

China’s BYD is upgrading its top-selling Shark 6 plug-in hybrid (PHEV) ute in Australia with more power and towing capacity.According to local government approval filings, this version of the Shark 6 will receive a more powerful 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine with a 200kW front electric motor and a 150kW rear electric motor, bringing a total system output of 345kW.This is up from the current 321kW total system output which is achieved by a smaller 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine, a 170kW front electric motor and a 150kW rear electric motor.It’s worth noting that this new 2.0-litre turbo-petrol and dual-electric motor set-up is borrowed from the recently launched Denza B5, though it’s a detuned version. The B5 has a total system output of 400kW.Thanks in part to the extra power, the maximum braked towing capacity has been increased from 2500kg to a segment-meeting 3500kg.The larger engine and more powerful front electric motor however has also increased the tare mass from 2675kg to 2738kg. No payload or gross vehicle mass (GVM) figures have been detailed yet.It’s unclear whether BYD will add this forthcoming more powerful version as a flagship offering in the line-up, or whether it will completely replace the existing model.Regardless it will likely cost more than the current Shark 6 Premium, which starts at $57,900 before on-road costs.For now BYD hasn’t officially announced when this upgraded version of the Shark 6 will be going on sale, though government approval filings like the typically are published just a few months before a vehicle goes on sale.As previously reported, the approval filings also include a cab-chassis version of the Shark 6.It’s worth noting that it still features the same 1.5-litre turbo-petrol dual-electric motor powertrain as the existing Shark 6, meaning it also only has a 2500kg braked towing capacity.BYD similarly hasn’t confirmed exactly when this Shark 6 cab-chassis will be going on sale.In Australia the Shark 6 has been a runaway sales success since it was first launched in early 2025.Last year a total of 18,073 examples were sold, making it the best-selling PHEV in Australia.Even in January 2026, a total of 1108 Shark 6 examples were sold. This saw it outsell the likes of the GWM Cannon and Cannon Alpha (885 sales combined), Kia Tasman (410 sales) and the Mazda BT-50 (780 sales).

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While towing our caravan, our 2021 Isuzu MU-X continually changes gears. We would be travelling along with the engine at around 1800rpm, then it would drop back to fourth gear and be up around 2500rpm. This seems to for no good reason I can come up with. Any thoughts?