SPY PICS: 2024 BYD Shark ute undisguised

The 2024 BYD ‘Shark’ electrified pick-up has been spotted in full production trim in Mexico ahead of its global reveal later this year, confirming the blocky Ford Ranger design vibes seen in previous spy shots and teaser images.

It’s unclear why the Chinese car-maker’s all-new dual-cab 4x4 ute was on public roads undisguised, given the model was covered from roof rails to tyres in camouflage in the first official teaser images released only a fortnight or so ago.

Whatever the case, the plug-in hybrid workhorse – which is yet to be named but could be called the Shark or King, based on trademark filings – will be quite a handsome thing when it launches in the next 12 months or so with class-leading outputs and efficiency, followed by an all-electric version.

Published to Instagram last week by AutoDinámico, these fresh spy shots show-off virtually every detail of the first BYD ute’s exterior, while images posted to the BYD EV Owners Australia Facebook group reveal its production-spec interior, which has changed only in quality since we first saw it in February.

Both the interior and exterior are defined by their square motifs, with almost every detail comprising straight lines and sharp angles, making BYD the latest in a growing number of established and challenger brands to ‘Americanise’ the look of their pick-up trucks in the name of sex appeal.

The front-end is spanned by a full-width lighting strip or chromed trim (it’s hard to tell which in direct sunshine), complemented at the rear by a matching red strip that links the tail-light clusters.

Inside the cabin there are two wide-screen displays – one for the driver, the other a central multimedia display – set against a two-level dashboard comprising dual glove boxes, red stitching and piping, chunky controls and a raised centre console.

As we reported last week, BYD says its first ute is already attracting significant interest Down Under, but Australians may have to wait until 2025 to get their hands on the segment-busting electrified pick-up.

EVDirect CEO David Smitherman recently told carsales that BYD was targeting 25,000 sales in Australia this year and 50,000 in 2025, when it could launch up to five new models.

The Shark ute and Seal U mid-size SUV, which is likely to be called something else here, are set to be at the forefront of that rapid sales growth, since they’ll be new entrants in the country’s two largest new-vehicle sales segments.

“We have some pretty strong ambitions and our business is gearing itself up for growth,” he said.

“For us to have these aspirations of significant growth I have to make sure we have all of the key segments covered around small, medium and large SUVs.”

Business customers will make up the bulk of Shark sales and Smitherman said representatives from more than a dozen of Australia’s biggest fleet buyers toured BYD headquarters in China last week.

“These are government institutions, utility institutions,” he said. “We are letting them know about BYD. They are seeing engineering, they are seeing design, they are seeing the future.

“Fleet is a big part of our business. I see us being able to really promote that as a great channel for these organisations to meet their CSG requirements.”

BYD’s Australian boss was less upfront about the local release date of the Shark and couldn’t guarantee it would go on sale here in 2024, as previously promised by his predecessor and now EVDirect managing director and executive chairperson, Luke Todd.

“Guarantee is a big word, right?” Smitherman said.

“We are certainly pushing it. Cars are being tested and we are certainly pushing it.”

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