BYD Mako ruled out for Australia

BYD’s Shark 6 keeps kicking goals, with the oil crisis and new variants introduced earlier this year boosting sales figures for the plug-in hybrid ute. However, BYD’s Aussie office says while something akin to a “Shark 4” might make sense to grow its ute family, it’s not putting its hand up for the recently announced BYD Mako unibody pick-up to fill that gap.

The arrival of a compact unibody pick-up for BYD’s Brazilian customers naturally got the rumour mill pumping: could the BYD Mako make it to Australian shores?

Like its bigger brother, the Shark 6, the BYD Mako combines a fuel-sipping plug-in hybrid powertrain with a useful ute body style, though unlike the Shark 6 it’s a far more car-like proposition thanks to its SUV-esque styling and monocoque – rather than ladder-frame – construction.

BYD Mako revealed as smaller car-based ute confirms the Mako is a monocoque ute positioned beneath the ladder-frame Shark 6.

However, if you were hoping BYD would bring a more cost-conscious ute to its local showrooms, the company’s Australian operation has poured cold water on that idea.

“It’s not really on our radar,” said BYD Australia chief operating officer, Stephen Collins, of the Mako’s Australian prospects.

Speaking to carsales at the recent announcement of BYD’s sponsorship of the Hawthorn Hawks AFL team, Collins said that while the Mako was deemed unsuitable for Australian tastes, the company was nevertheless keeping a keen eye out for a more globally suitable pick-up to sit beneath the Shark 6 range.

For the foreseeable future, though, there’s no plan to introduce a broader family of BYD utes:

“We see opportunities, definitely,” Collins said.

“We're in constant contact with headquarters in China, but in the foreseeable future, no. But beyond that, I think there are some market opportunities, particularly in the smaller space.”

What those opportunities may manifest as is anyone’s guess.

While Latin American (LATAM) markets favour unibody utes like the BYD Mako, those vehicles are often treated as a unique species by the auto industry and rarely escape South America.

And while unibody utes of yore like the Subaru Brumby, Proton Jumbuck and Suzuki Mightyboy are still enjoyed by a number of enthusiasts in Australia… it’s nevertheless a very small number.

For now, BYD will focus its ute efforts on consolidating the Shark 6, which has benefited from the arrival of a cab-chassis model and the higher-output Shark 6 Performance earlier this year.

The latter of which introduced a gruntier 350kW/700Nm 2.0-litre hybrid powertrain and 3500kg towing capability, complementing the existing 321kW/650Nm 1.5-litre hybrid that was only capable of a 2500kg tow max.

For BYD Australia, the untapped potential in the ute space is still in the sub-Shark 6 area.

Pricing of the Shark 6 starts at $55,900 for the cab-chassis, with the more popular Shark 6 Premium dual-cab priced at $57,900 and the Performance range-topper retailing at $62,900.

There’s plenty of airspace beneath the Shark 6 for another ute to slot into.

“We're in constant contact [with China] about where opportunities exist,” explained Collins, “and I think there's certainly more in the pick-up space, more opportunities that do exist.”

“For us [BYD Australia], I think smaller size [than Shark 6] may be of interest. Bigger… maybe not so much, but certainly a smaller size would be of interest. Whether the business model can work for that globally is another question, but there are opportunities there.”

Join the conversation at our Facebook page
Or email us at editor@carsales.com.au