Blood in the water as BYD local boss take opportunity to savage “dirty diesel” competition.

WHETHER the BYD plug-in ute promising Ford Ranger Raptor-beating power will have price equivalence to that performance kingpin will not be known until September.

With pricing and final specification detail for the Shark 6 off the table for another two months, BYD New Zealand brand manager Warren Willmot (above) used the type’s national debut today, staged at the national Fieldays agricultural event, to take a swipe at high-profile opposition, notably a well-established favourite, Toyota Hilux.

He also said potential buyers can from now on place a fully refundable $300 downpayment on the new vehicle, to secure a place in initial build slots, for consignments due to land before Christmas.

Today’s unveiling at Mystery Creek involved Transport Minister Simeon Brown, with Willmot expressing expectation to him that Government departments will be the biggest customer. That argument seems based on ground their fleet policy requires preference for electric whenever it avails.

Shark 6 is the first plug-in ute here, though others are to come within the next 12 months.

Brown’s dismantling of Clean Car Discount at end of last year was to protect sales of utes, which are primarily sold in turbodiesel form that deliver high CO2 emissions.

The Minister today said Shark 6’s plug-in hybrid powertrain “meets the needs of so many New Zealand farmers and businesses”.

Those diesel products, meantime, were the focus of sniping from Willmot today, who in proclaiming the Shark 6 as “the biggest, cleanest change in the ute industry ever” also lambasted “dirty diesels” and appeared to deride a national icon, the Toyota Hilux, whose mild hybrid format is also making its big public airing at Fieldays.

Willmot held up a 48 volt battery, that appeared to be for a power tool, to suggest that was the size of the battery the market leader was employing to lend a Green tinge to the Hilux’s 2.8-litre turbodiesel.

He then held up a longer element, that he said was the casing for just one of the more than 65 Blade technology batteries that the Shark 6 uses.

The Toyota cannot run on pure electric alone, and power and torque outputs and its economy are lineball with the regular Hilux diesel.

The Shark 6, meantime, can achieve around 100km on battery-reliant driving, the brand says, and has a ‘Dual Mode Off-Road’ plug-in hybrid system, pairing a 1.5-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol and dual electric motors for a combined power output higher than a Ford Ranger Raptor.

BYD claims the Shark has more than 321kW in total – compared to 292kW for the Raptor in its petrol V6 form and 150kW from the alternate 2.0-litre biturbo. 

Ford’s performance variants of Ranger, which is also coming with a hybrid powertrain in early 2025, respectively cost $96,490 and $86,990. 

There’s potential the BYD could be in that ballpark, given the acceptance that electric drivetrains - and batteries - carry a premium.

BYD’s model has a towing rating of 2.5 tonnes, which is the same as the performance Fords, but 1000kg shy of the category norm, which Hilux, regular issue Ranger and most other competitors achieve.

Willmot said today signified a sea change in how NZ’s most loved segment was powered.

“Utes are not dead but the way they have been previously powered are.”

Holding up the small battery, he commented: “This is almost 48 volts that you might find in other commercial hybrids.” He then enforced that the BYD was “a proper hybrid.”

“Add to that BYD has brought to market a vehicle that is clean, has got the power equivalent of a 4.0-litre V8, it’s got the best smarts of all the smartphones …

“Basically, this is a business on wheels with a premium feel … it’s (also) a serious work vehicle and it marks the biggest, cleanest change in the ute industry ever.

“As a super hybrid, you get the benefit of an EV without having to worry about the lack of infrastructure. You’ve also got the resilience of petrol, with minimal CO2.”

NZ-market technical detail is not clear, but fuel consumption for Shark 6 is rated at 7.5L/100km in Mexico, where it is built.

That is similar to other four-cylinder turbodiesel utes sold in NZ, but higher than from plug-in hybrid SUVs and passenger cars.

The combined driving range when the Shark is running as a hybrid is listed at 840 kilometres. That and the electric-only range is from using a NEDC testing cycle, which is less stringent than the WLTP measurement now adopted in NZ.

BYD says the plug-in hybrid system will prioritise electric motor propulsion for “up to 80 percent of total journeys” and it will also offer a vehicle-to-load function to power appliances from the vehicle’s battery. The lithium-iron phosphate ‘blade’ battery forms part of the chassis with structural rigidity of up to 38 percent.

It has three terrain modes – sand, mud and snow – and instant torque distribution between the front and rear wheels, while there is independent coil-spring rear suspension.

Measuring 5457mm long, 1971mm wide and 1925mm tall, the Shark is one of the largest utes in the midsize class. It is 87mm longer, 53mm wider and 39mm taller than a Ranger Wildtrak.

The right hand drive display vehicle has a 12.8-inch infotainment system that is designed to host Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster and a 360-degree camera system. The Shark 6 also comes a wireless phone charger, and a head-up display.

In some markets a NFC key card is also included, with iPhone users able to unlock, lock and start their Shark using the Apple CarKey function first seen in BMW vehicles. It is unclear if this functionality will be offered here.

Questions also still hang about the safety feature provision. Mexican versions of the Shark have six airbags, but it is perceived NZ market editions could add a front-centre airbag for a better chance of receiving a five-star safety rating from the national adjudicator, Australasian New Car Assessment Programme.