BYD has confirmed the name of its first plug-in pickup truck that it plans to unveil at the Auto China 2024 expo (the Beijing Motor Show), which starts on Thursday. It will be called the BYD Shark, and at launch, it will be available with a plug-in hybrid powertrain, with the possibility that a fully electric variant will be announced at some point down the line.
The Shark will be about the same size as the Ford Ranger PHEV, which is also its only direct rival since there isn’t another plug-in pickup in this size class available in China, Europe or Australia where it will be sold. BYD has not announced the specifics of the Shark’s powertrain, but it shares its platform with the front-wheel-drive BYD Seal U SUV, which packs a 1.5-liter gasoline engine that, together with an electric motor, makes 194 horsepower.
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BYD doesn't plan to sell cars stateside but may build them in Mexico.
BYD is the Chinese automaker that overtook Tesla for total EV sales in Q4 2023 and the Shark is its first plug-in pickup truck.
The Seal U PHEV has an 18.3-kilowatt-hour battery pack that provides up to 68 miles of pure electric driving. There are also two fully electric versions of the Seal U, which are already available in China and will also be introduced in Europe, with 71.8 kWh and 87 kWh battery capacities and claimed WLTP ranges of 260 and 310 miles, respectively.
The Seal U’s charging power peaks at 115 kW, and it supports vehicle-to-load (V2L) bidirectional charging. Sharing its platform with the Seal U, the BYD Shark will likely have identical powertrains and very similar specifications.
Gallery: BYD EV Pickup Camouflaged
BYD also teased the look of the Shark pickup, showing its squared-off design and front daytime running lights, which feature a full-width light bar that connects its headlights. This makes it look a bit like the Ford F-150 Lightning, although the lower part of the headlights’ LED signature is quite different in the BYD.
The Chinese automaker previously showed photos of a fully camouflaged Shark, which gave us a pretty good idea of what the final production vehicle would look like. There isn’t anything particularly unique about the way it looks, and it seems to draw upon elements from other existing pickup designs. Inside, it will feature a 15.6-inch infotainment display powered by an eight-core processor.
BYD has not announced plans to enter the US market, but it already sells cars in Mexico, where it is reportedly considering establishing a manufacturing location. The company wants to build a factory with a yearly output of 150,000 cars that could potentially be exported throughout the Americas.
