BYD Shark 6 towing concerns addressed

As more and more motorists step up to buy Australia’s first plug-in hybrid electric ute, the BYD Shark 6, several restrictions around its towing capabilities have been highlighted by customers.

But representatives from BYD’s Australian importer, EVDirect, insist an over-the-air (OTA) update will fix some of the issues shortly – within the next couple of months.

The issues identified by some owners – which are understood to be addressed by the software fix or update – include a maximum speed restriction of 110km/h, which is activated once a trailer plug is connected.

Owners have also reported that the vehicle’s ‘towing mode’ deactivates autonomous emergency braking as well as lane-keep assist.

Towing a trailer or attaching a bike rack to the tow bar can also force the car to adopt its standard driving mode, restricting off-road settings, which increases petrol engine use to maintain battery charge.

The 2025 BYD Shark 6 has a towing limit of 2500kg, which is below the average in the one-tonne ute segment in Australia.

However, as we reported in October 2024, BYD is currently working on a more powerful Shark 6 ute that can tow 3500kg, matching the segment’s top sellers, the Ford Ranger and Toyota HiLux.

This version is expected to get an upgraded 2.0-litre turbo-petrol engine, replacing the current version’s 1.5-litre turbo-petrol donk.

BYD is also looking at a rock-crushing Ford Ranger Raptor rival, which could be called the Shark 6 Meg. The vehicle is expected to leverage the hardcore off-road 4x4 features of the Fangchengbao Bao 5, an SUV currently sold in China and also under consideration for Australia.

As it stands, the current regular BYD Shark 6’s towing restrictions are set to be fixed in the next two months and according to David Smitherman, CEO of EVDirect, the more than 6000 customers orders will be filled soon.

“As of this afternoon, [there are] 4254 [BYD Shark 6s] on the water,” he said, cautioning that many deliveries have been slowed down by the industrial action occurring at some Aussie ports and docks.

“So we have been held back by the port issue – it’s stuffed us right up. So this month we’re going to have some below-par retails but next month we’ll certainly start to crack the numbers up.

“It’s just put us back a couple of weeks basically,” he said.

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