BYD Shark 6 2025 Review - International

The 2025 BYD Shark 6 will initially be offered as a high-end Premium model when deliveries start in December 2024 and although pricing is yet to be confirmed, it’s expected to start around $60,000 for the top-spec Premium version.

That would make it a similar price to lower-level variants of its prime competitors, such as the Ford Ranger (the XLT costs $63,640 plus on-road costs) and Toyota Hilux (the SR5 starts at $60,670 plus ORCs).

Like those cars, it rides on a ladder frame chassis, although instead of a diesel engine the Shark 6 gets a plug-in hybrid electric system (PHEV) that is designed to reduce fuel use and improve performance.

Full details for the Shark 6 dual-cab ute will be revealed on October 29, which is also when the order book opens.

However, it should be noted that in 2025 BYD will launch a more affordable version of the hybrid ute with less gear than the Shark 6 Premium.

The 2025 BYD Shark 6 Premium will come with a relatively high level of standard equipment; even the (yet-to-be-named) entry-level model grade will come generously appointed.

Both vehicles share the same plug-in hybrid EV (PHEV) drivetrain that can be driven purely on electricity for short distances but with the back-up of a petrol powerplant for longer journeys.

In the more expensive Premium model we tested, you get plenty of fruit, starting with power adjustable front seats upholstered with synthetic leather trim, heated and ventilated front seats, a head-up display and dual-zone ventilation.

A 12-speaker Dynaudio sound system, which includes DAB digital radio tuning, is part of the package and the BYD Shark 6 gets a full-size spare tyre.

BYD is also developing a range of accessories, including off-road extras, a bullbar and more and they’re expected to be available when the car launches later in 2024.

As with other BYDs the Shark 6 should be covered by a six-year, 150,000km warranty and a separate eight-year/160,000km on the high voltage battery, although it may also be subject to the same vagaries as other BYD models, with caveats on some components like the suspension, which often are only covered for three years.

Servicing requirements and pricing is yet to be announced.

The 2025 BYD Shark 6 comes with seven airbags and is also endowed with lashings of driver assistance technology, including driver fatigue monitoring, blind spot warning, autonomous emergency braking and front and rear cross traffic alert, which is handy when extracting the vehicle from tight parallel car park.

Lane departure warning and lane keep assistance make highway driving easier while rear collision warning, speed limit recognition, door opening warning and child presence detection are in there.

The Shark 6 hasn’t yet been tested by ANCAP but the company is targeting a five-star rating to ensure it stays on the shortlist of businesses and governments that call for that.

The 2025 BYD Shark 6 gets the same basic tech spread as other BYDs, starting with over-the-air software updates that allow new features and functionality to be added via regular updates delivered wirelessly via the onboard SIM connectivity.

There’s also a large 15.6-inch central infotainment screen that can be arranged in portrait or landscape configuration at the press of a button, rotating seamlessly.

The jumbo screen incorporates wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and has dozens of embedded apps with a vast range of functionality, from information on the car to ones focused on infotainment.

A 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster provides detailed information to the driver.

Up front, there’s dual phone holders, one of which has wireless charging functionality embedded, plus a USB-A and USB-C port. The rear matches that with a USB-A and USB-C ports and the Shark also features vehicle-to-load (V2L) tech that allows household AC appliances and camping gear to be powered from regular powerpoints.

There’s an AC plug in the rear of the centre console as well as three more in the load area. All up the system can provide up to 6kW of power, although it’d only be able to do that for about four hours before you’d need to start the car to charge the battery.

Still, limit the power drain to items such as a fridge and lights and it’ll easily go a couple of days or longer on the 29.5kWh battery.

The 2025 BYD Shark 6 combines a petrol engine with an electric drivetrain to create a plug-in hybrid EV system.

It’s the same basic system employed for the BYD Sealion 6 but it’s been tailored and tuned for off-road life and pumps out more combined power and torque – 321kW and 650Nm.

That’s significantly more power but not as much torque as the upcoming circa-$100,000 Ford Ranger PHEV, it’s 205kW/690Nm enabling a 3500kg towing capacity.

The Shark ute’s petrol engine is a 1.5-litre four-cylinder turbo generating a modest 135kW and 260Nm, but has been tuned predominantly to generate electricity rather than drive the wheels.

There are also two electric motors, each the same size and with the same potential outputs.

However, engineers have tuned the electrical system to provide more power to the front wheels and more torque to the rear wheels.

BYD claims the front axle can make up to 170kW and 310Nm. It was unclear whether that’s just from the electric motor or with the petrol engine chiming in at higher speeds (the petrol engine only drives the front wheels). We suspect it’s the combo of the two, but should have more details when the local launch occurs later in the year.

The rear motor makes about 150kW and 340Nm, the additional torque designed to give it extra shove up hills and when towing.

There’s no traditional gearbox, with the electric motors running through a reduction gear – essentially a single-speed unit. The petrol engine also runs through a single ratio but only starts directly driving the car above about 70km/h.

If you hear it whirring away below that speed it’s acting purely as a generator, creating electricity to be used in the motors.

The 2025 BYD Shark 6 has a 29.58kWh battery claimed to provide up to 100km of EV-only range.

However, that’s using the NEDC measurement; expect something closer to 80km in real world driving.

Finding accurate figures is challenging but BYD suggests with plenty of charge in the battery the car will use a claimed average of 2.0 litres of petrol per 100km travelled, which is very, very efficient.

However, once you’ve done that first 80km and are running in hybrid mode the company claims fuel use of 7.9L/100km.

That’s the same as a HiLux dual-cab auto and slightly more than a Ranger 2.0-litre diesel (7.6L/100km).

However, those figures are according to a laboratory test and you’ll regularly use more than that in the real world.

So the Shark 6 is very much in the hunt and likely better in everyday driving. And, of course, it has something like 80km of zero fuel use – if you charge it regularly.

The Shark 6 can be charged from a home wallbox accepting up to 7kW of power for a full charge in about 4.5 hours. Plugging into a standard powerpoint takes more like 15 hours.

It also has a CCS combo port for faster DC charging at up to 55kW. BYD claims a 30-80 per cent (about 40km of range) charge time of 25 minutes.

Ladder frame off-roaders typically aren’t particularly athletic or inspiring on the road.

That largely holds true with the 2025 BYD Shark 6.

It’s a heavy beast at 2710kg and one that leans on its front tyres when you dial up the pace.

But the fitment of independent suspension front and rear seems to settle the rump nicely when you ask it to change directions.

Or, at least, it did during our brief drive on a flat, open airfield.

The brakes feel a tad spongy but are effective in pulling things up, thanks to discs all around – no cost-cutting drum brakes here.

We’re yet to see what the Shark 6 hybrid pick-up truck is like in anything remotely resembling Aussie conditions, although an equally brief dirt track gave an inkling of its off-road ability – see the next section for details.

Much of the Shark’s driving experience is defined by its drivetrain, though.

It behaves much like an EV, with loads of effortless torque when you need it. It’s not as hyperactive as smaller EVs – it often takes a moment for the full 650Nm to kick in – but it’s a lot more responsive than anything from the diesel ute sphere.

Accelerate hard out of a tight corner and the inside front wheel can chirp as it chases traction.

You’ll occasionally hear the engine whirring away, but a lot of the time it’s only generating electricity rather than driving the wheels. So the engine revs often don’t match what you’re doing with your right foot.

As with our on-road taste test the off-road experience with the 2025 BYD Shark 6 was short and sweet.

Maybe two kilometres of dirt track with some whoops, hills and sharp bumps.

First things first: there’s something eerie about cruising through the bush with almost no noise. Welcome to life in a PHEV ute!

Select one or the off-road drive modes (Sand, Snow, Muddy or Mountain) and the engine fires to life to ensure the electrons are flowing to all four wheels.

The few times the traction control kicked in the Shark 6 seemed to sort it out swiftly and keep things moving. And even with independent suspension front and rear, the wheel articulation across dips seemed thoroughly respectable.

Elsewhere, the Shark 6 does things differently. There’s no transfer case for low range gearing, which may immediately raise a flag with hard core off-roaders.

But keep in mind those transfer cases are fitted to chiefly to multiply the torque of a combustion engine at low speeds to allow for rock hopping and hill climbing.

Electric motors already have loads of torque where you need it most for off-roading.

So while it occasionally calls on a decent prod of the throttle it ultimately has loads of thrust for hill climbing.

It also has decent credentials. The Shark 6 pick-up trucks ’s approach angle is 31 degrees and its departure angle 19.5 degrees. The ramp over angle is 17 degrees.

There’s also 230mm of ground clearance and it’s been engineered to wade through up to 700mm of water.

This is where things get tough for the BYD Shark 6.

It has a gross combined mass of 3500kg and a kerb weight of 2710kg, leaving 790kg for payload (luggage and people).

Top-end versions of the Ranger and Hilux have a similar payload, although some also have more add-ons, such as a sports bar or steel front bumper. Pop those onto the Shark 6 and you need to reduce the payload by the same weight.

Still, it’s respectable if not class leading.

The tow capacity is not as convincing, at 2500kg. That puts the Shark 6 one tonne behind the big players it’s hoping to tempt people away from.

We didn’t get to measure the tray, but the lined tub looks broad and useful, with a claimed 1200 litres of space.

Accessing is done via a button in the cabin or by double pressing a button on top of the tailgate. The tailgate has a single strut to allow it to lower slowly, rather than crashing open, as many do and the wheel arches don’t intrude into load space as much as some utes.

There are six tie-down points, four relatively low and towards the rear of the tub and the other two are higher and towards the cabin.

The 2025 BYD Shark 6’s bold exterior design flows through to the cabin.

The car we drove was the more expensive Premium model that comes with red/orange stitching and highlights around the cup holders and air vents. It’s a nice touch indicative of the attention to detail in sprucing up a cabin that’s also spacious and practical.

Grab handles either side of the broad centre console are handy for bracing yourself and there’s decent storage, including an open cavity above the glovebox.

The front seats hug in the right places and the perforated leather-look finish does a decent job of looking vaguely authentic.

The rear seats have ample under-seat foot space and legroom and, combined with good headroom, it appears to be one of the more spacious of the mainstream utes.

Those in the back also get centrally mounted air vents, complete with the anodised-look red surround, adding a more upmarket feel.

The ute segment is rich in loyalty, as the brutal sales battle between Ford and Toyota has shown is in recent years.

But in the same way Tesla changed loyalties in the mid-sized sedan and SUV market, the 2025 BYD Shark 6 has the potential to shake things up for those looking for a four-door workhorse.

That’s because it does things differently, starting with a plug-in hybrid system that not only delivers on performance but also allows for EV-only driving.

It also has a spacious, well-presented cabin and looks set to arrive with a compelling price.

While brief, our limited driving experience suggests the 2025 BYD Shark 6 locates that final piece of the ute puzzle, delivering everyday liveability teamed with some rough road muscle.

The perfect ute? No chance, there’s no such thing.

But the Shark 6 has the potential to shift some buyers from diesel to partial electric – especially if the price is right.

2025 BYD Shark 6 Premium at a glance:
Price: From about $60,000 (estimated)
Available: December 2024
Powertrain: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder turbo-petrol.
Output: 321kW/650Nm (electric motor: 170kW front, 150kW rear, estimated)
Combined output: 321kW/650Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Battery: 29.58kWh lithium ferrous phosphate (LFP)
Range: 80km (estimated)
Energy consumption: About 20kWh/100km (official figures not supplied)
Fuel: 2.0L/100km, 7.9L/100km (in hybrid mode)
CO2: 46g/km
Safety rating: Unrated

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