The new breed of dual-cab ute: 2025 BYD Shark 6 PHEV to hunt down Ford Ranger and Toyota HiLux from next month – but can it convince you to abandon diesel?
The 2025 BYD Shark 6 is now just weeks away from launching in Australia, when it will become the first plug-in hybrid ute available in our market when it’s goes on sale next month on October 29.
That’s a big deal in the diesel-dominated world of utes, which means the plug-in petrol load lugger has its work cut out for it.
Said to have benefitted from an extensive 12-month local development program that was carried out both on and off Australian roads, the new four-door dual-cab ute gets the jump on inbound electrified utes like the Ford Ranger PHEV that arrives next year.
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Giving it the edge over the Blue Oval plug-in ute, the BYD gets a larger 29.5kWh battery that is claimed to give the Shark 6 up to 80km of electric-only driving range, which is almost double the circa-45km of the upcoming Ranger PHEV.
More good news is the BYD Shark 6 uses two electric motors — one on the front axle, one on the rear — that’s joined by a 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol engine.
While final specifications are still to be confirmed, it’s expected to produce a combined 321kW of power, about double that of many top-selling utes, while averaging potentially less than 8.0L/100km.
With that level of might, acceleration should be Ford Range Raptor-rivalling, with the Chinese brand already confirming the 0-100km/h dash will take less than six seconds.
Where the Shark 6 is expected to trail its rivals is when it comes with how much it can tow. Initially, at the launch in Mexico there were suggestions it would only tow 2500kg but that braked towing capacity is expected to be improved for our market but might still be some way off the 3500 braked towing capacity of the very best in its class.
Another area local engineers were looking to improve was the lowly 875kg payload, that lacked the 1000+kg of the class-leaders.
When it arrives BYD will offer an extensive range of accessories, including a bullbar, with many of the add-ons said to have been locally tested and developed.
Question marks still hang over the pricing for the BYD Shark 6 PHEV but previous reports suggest it will cost around $60,000. And since first customer deliveries would begin this December, BYD confirmed early buyers would be able to take advantage of the fringe benefits tax (FBT) exemption that applies to EVs and plug-in hybrids priced below the luxury car tax threshold.
The PHEV tax break is due to cease on April 1, 2025, while battery electric vehicles can still take advantage of it until 2027.
More details of the 2025 BYD Shark 6 plug-in hybrid will be revealed in the coming weeks ahead of its launch on October 29.
