Shark and King nameplates firming for incoming BYD ute
Trademarks for BYD Shark, King and King L monikers secured for use in Australia as BYD ute reveal draws nearBYD has filed a trio of local trademark applications that are believed to revolve around its incoming all-new dual-cab ute, which is still to be named but will be revealed soon ahead of an Australian launch late this year.
The nameplates in question are BYD King, BYD King L and BYD Shark, the latter having connections to the prototype of the plug-in hybrid BYD ute revealed by the car-maker earlier this month.
On the official pictures, the camouflage down the dual-cab’s flanks is adorned with large dorsal fins.
A close look at the sub-clause for the ‘BYD Shark’ trademark application also shows that it was filed under: “Class 12 – cars; motor coaches; lorries; motor buses; forklift trucks; automobile bodies; automobile chassis; motors, electric, for land vehicles; brake pads for automobiles; driverless cars [autonomous cars]; pickup trucks.”
BYD’s model naming strategy varies across the globe, meaning Shark could be used in some markets while King might be applied in others.
There’s a chance one or both monikers could be used to denote a model variant rather than the full line – car-makers gravitate towards tough badges for their flagship utes, such as Raptor, Warrior, Sports Cat, Thunder, Xtreme, etc – and the BYD ute has already been promised to offer huge power and torque from its electrified powertrain.
But Shark looks at this early stage to be a full line – joining the Dolphin and Seal – and while the jury’s still out on the King, the ‘King L’ looks to denote a long-wheelbase or stretched version of the standard ute, as used by other brands.
Similar names have been applied to rivals such as the SsangYong Musso XLV and LDV T60 Mega Tub.
Neither of the King trademark applications carry a ‘pick-up’ sub-clause in their classification like the Shark filing, but that’s no indication they will not be employed.
BYD Australia executives have promised the all-new pick-up will blow the Toyota HiLux and Ford Ranger “out of the water” on pricing, with the local operation claiming at the time to have had more than 20,000 registrations of interest.
The model’s late-2024 release is shaping up to be one of the most high-profile arrivals of the year, alongside the long-awaited Kia Tasman.
Related: 2025 BYD plug-in hybrid ute teased ahead of Oz launch
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