Utes

The influx of full-size utes from the USA has been a controversial development, with WWII American GI-style sentiment along the lines of ‘over-sized, over-priced and over-here’ summing up the negative commentary.

The BYD Shark is now mere days away from being officially unveiled, and probably the most interesting thing about its unmasking will be just how the Chinese ute’s plug-in hybrid system competes with the diesels that dominate Australia’s dual-cab market.

Mitsubishi announced a record operating US$739.8 million profit on Wednesday with the United States a key growth region for the plug-in hybrid specialist. In discussions with Mitsubishi Motors Corporation CEO Takao Kato, AutoNews was told the Japanese brand is working on a new electric vehicle and one-tonne pick-up to capitalise on North American market growth in collaboration with Nissan. "One thing for sure is that it would be extremely difficult for an automaker of our size to survive all on its own", Kato told AutoNews. "I think exploring collaboration with partners is the best strategy", he added.For the electric vehicle partnership, Kato-san indicated it would be an OEM partnership as has been done with the Renault-based ASX replacement in Europe. A version of Nissan’s Ariya Tesla Model Y rival for the United States could happen, though this remains under study. In return, Nissan will develop a plug-in hybrid using Mitsubishi technology currently found in the Outlander and Eclipse Cross PHEVs. The ute is another interesting story. Given the vehicle is targeting the United States, it will need to be built domestically to avoid the country’s high 25 per cent tariff on imported commercial vehicles. Kato-san said unequivocally that the next-gen one-tonne pick-up truck will be developed with Nissan. The current Triton is not sold in North America and nor is Navara, Nissan instead sells the Mississippi-built Frontier as a Ford Ranger and Toyota Tacoma rival. It is understood the next-gen Navara will move onto the new Triton’s underpinnings, so logic says a similar path will be followed in the North American market. The Navara/Frontier split may continue, with the latter continuing to be slightly larger for US tastes. This could see a US-version of the Triton come to fruition potentially using the L200 name. A spokesperson told CarsGuide Mitsubishi Australia has no involvement in the project so the vehicle is unlikely to come to Australia. And there’s another snag – that being ‘one ton’ in US truck speak means bigger workhorses like the Ford F-350 and Chevrolet Silverado 3500HD. Admittedly, a bespoke heavy-duty US-only Triton and Frontier seem unrealistic. Electrification is certain to play a part, whatever the decision. Mitsubishi is the Alliance project leader in plug-in hybrid and utes so that is definitely under consideration, but Mitusbishi has yet to decide finally on pure electric, plug-in or regular hybrid for its ute. Kato-san also commented on Nissan’s recent memorandum of understanding with Honda, saying he would be open to a similar tie-up with Mitsubishi and another brand. There was no mention from Mitsubishi about the third Alliance partner, Renault. The French marque is also looking to add a dual-cab ute to its stable as a replacement for its Navara-based Alaskan. That vehicle is built in Argentina and sold in Latin American markets.It’s another opening for Mitsubishi to broaden its appeal with a Triton-based Renault ute that could be sold alongside the Mitsubishi product in certain markets. In the United States, Mitsubishi posted a 36 per cent sales increase compared to Q1 2023, shifting 28,403 new vehicles with only four models. The Australian market contributes more than its fair share to Mitsubishi’s bottom line, with 20,188 sales in the first quarter – a 21.3 per cent increase on last year – in a much smaller market. Mitsubishi currently sells five models in Australia with more Triton variants likely to drive sales further. It’s this newfound success in countries like the United States and Australia that has seen Mitsubishi turn its attention to new horizons and away from the slim-margin ASEAN region. The Mitsubishi Australia spokesperson added that there would be more to come by mid-year following a national dealer conference.

The 2025 BYD Shark plug-in hybrid has been revealed by the brand on Instagram ahead of its official release date of 14 May.Shown in full, the three-image post displays a trio of young men road-tripping, presumably part of the BYD Shark's launch campaign to amplify the promised capability of the Toyota HiLux and Ford Ranger rival.Given it will be revealed in Mexico, it makes sense it will be a desert-themed trip. More information on the powertrain and stats will be revealed at the release.Which is why we know our guesses were mostly correct, with the Shark staying true to dual-cab norms, with some modern twists.Were given an even better glimpse into the ute's style – the unique blind-like sports bar at the back, underbody protection and unique long wheelbase proportions.We get a little glimpse of the spray-in bedliner again with a picture of the tailgate down confirming BYD's ute won't have any kind of split tailgate like the Cannon Alpha Hybrid does.BYD has promised the 'DMI' or Dual Motor Intelligence plug-in hybrid will offer over 1000km combined driving range. Towing capacity, power and torque figures remain unknown.We can guess outputs will be fairly juicy from the (likely) turbo-petrol 1.5-litre four-cylinder based plug-in hybrid system. BYD's Fang Cheng Bao 5 ladder frame SUV, for instance, pairs its engine with twin electric motors (one at each axle) for 500kW and 760Nm outputs."It is the best of both worlds – 100km range on pure electric, and then switch over to the dual-motor technology. So we're going to have a vehicle of circa-1000km, if not more range, but when you're driving around the city you'll be fully electric", BYD importer Luke Todd has told CarsGuide.More information is due on May 14, 2024.

Volkswagen Australia has reduced the payload of its Amarok ute range.But don’t panic, it’s actually good news for a lot of would-be buyers.The change has come about as VW brings its method of calculating payload into line with the rest of the dual-cab ute industry.Volkswagen Australia Amarok Product Manager, Ben Triebels, told CarsGuide that the change involves using the kerb weight of the Amarok rather than the tare mass when calculating the payload.Simply put, this involves weighing the vehicle with a full tank of fuel, rather than the 10 litres of fuel the tare weight method involves. There are no other physical changes whatsoever.“It’s a simple as that,” Triebels said.Of course, a heavier vehicle (one with a full fuel tank) reduces payload, but rather than that being a problem for the Amarok, Triebels sees it as an advantage.“We made the move to bring our specifications into line with what everybody else in the ute market does,” he said.“But then we had a few dealers and fleet managers contact us and tell us what a great thing the payload reduction was.”Which begs the question: Why?It turns out that in the case of many Amarok variants, that slight reduction brings the official payload below 1000kg. At which point, the vehicle is suddenly eligible for a novated lease where, previously, it wasn’t.Since many high-end dual-cabs are, in fact, user-chooser decisions purchased on just such a leasing plan, this has the potential for a sales uptick for Amarok.While the Aventura model already featured a payload under 1000kg thanks to its heavier 21-inch wheels and tyres and roller-cover for the bed, the Amarok Core, Style and PanAmericana have now all fallen below the 1000kg payload threshold for novated leasing.

The BYD Shark has finally been shot without camouflage, with the plug-in hybrid ute spied thundering across a dusty paddock as the model's official launch date is revealed.

LDV now sells several versions of the T60 side-by-side as it looks to diversify against increased dual-cab competition.

The V8 Toyota LandCruiser 79 Series is so popular the mind boggles. This is a purpose-built ute to the extreme. It's big and brash, noisy and not so nice - and in a molly-coddled, too-easy-to-be-triggered world, the 79 remains truly refreshing. But now that it's had a modern-ish update - replete with a 2.8L four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine and six-speed auto - is this the end for the beloved V8?

With last calls on the wild Ram TRX called in Australia, the newly revealed RHO will be the interim flagship in the United States featuring Ram’s new ‘Hurricane’ twin-turbo inline six-cylinder engine pumping out 403kW and 706Nm. 

The Isuzu D-Max is the only diesel ute that's been able to stay within touching distance of the Toyota HiLux and Ford Ranger, and the brand hopes this updated model will close the gap even further.But have they done enough to keep the D-Max fresh? We put it to the test to find out.