BYD Shark 6 just the first of several electrified utes

BYD could soon have a cut priced alternative to the full-sized Chevrolets, RAMs and Fords that have Australians yearning for ever-larger utes.

As it turns out, the incoming 2024 BYD Shark 6 will be just the first of a family of eco-friendly pick-ups intended to shake up the dual-cab establishment, with BYD execs fessing up to come tactical naming

In naming the car the Shark 6 – rather than simply Shark, as has been reported until recently – BYD has admitted the move was taken to make way for more utes in the future, and it’s the bigger American pick-up trucks that are in the crosshairs of the next Shark, due in 2025.

“We still have other product line-ups in the Shark series,” BYD product training specialist Michael Su told carsales.

“There’s maybe one (ute) for next year … full-size.”

His comments were backed by BYD’s general manager of Asia Pacific sales, Liu Xieliang, who confirmed there were more utes on the way.

“For Shark 6 it will be the first ute we will launch in Australia but it’s never the last,” he said.

The tempting thing for buyers increasingly gravitating to the large pick-up trucks many Aussies love to hate is that the new larger Shark – 7, 8 or 9 – should be a lot cheaper than the current US-sourced models.

Whereas the Chevrolet, RAM, Ford and Toyota are all manufactured with the steering wheel on the left before undergoing an expensive conversion to right-hand drive, the large BYD ute would emerge from the factory ready for life Down Under.

Throw in the advantage of lower manufacturing costs in China – and lower shipping costs to Australia – and it brings the real prospect that a highly-specified large, electrified Shark ute could arrive for less than $100,000.

Unsurprisingly, the prospect of a larger Shark ute has the BYD’s importer, EV Direct, excited and raring to go, with CEO David Smitherman confirming he would “absolutely” have his hand up for a bigger Shark.

“As a brand we’ve identified two segments we want to grow into and that’s SUVs and utes,” he said.

“We need to have a range of utes to compete in the marketplace.”

While we wait for the full-sizer, the 2024 BYD Shark 6 will enter showrooms in the final days of October.

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