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Chinese car maker BYD has revealed the first pictures of it's full size pick-up truck with a petrol-hybrid powertrain, the BYD Shark.
Continuing the marine naming theme established with the BYD Dolphin, Seal and Seagull passenger cars, the Shark is aptly named as the most ferocious model yet in the range.
Said to be larger than a double cab Ford Ranger. the BYD Shark uses a 1.5-litre turbo charged petrol engine paired to an electric motor producing 320hp.
The motor and engine specifications match that of the top-spec BYD Seal in Design trim. It also uses a 1.5-litre petrol hybrid engine with a 238kW output and 550Nm of torque.
It gets an all-wheel-drive driveline as used in the Design trim version of the Seal, using synchronous motors, where the front motor produces 150kW/300Nm and the rear motor delivering 120kW/250Nm.
For the hybrid component, the Shark will likely share the 18.3kWh batteries from the Seal, which are capable of being charged at a maximum speed of just 18kW. However, that will be enough for an electric only range of 100km and combines with the 60-litre fuel tank to deliver more than 840km of range using both electric and ICE.
The Shark was unveiled in Mexico and will be initially only be sold in Mexico. However, it is also expected to reach Australia later this year.
It's one-tonne sizing, rather than more North American proportions, mean it will be a direct competitor to the Toyota Tacoma and Ford Ranger. Pricing will see it exceed both models, though, with a starting price of 899,980 pesos ($53,400) for the Shark GL and 969,800 pesos ($57,500) for the more premium Shark GS.
Thanks to the electric motor it will be understandably swift with a 0-62mph speed of 5.7 seconds.
The BYD Shark will also have a 2.5-tonne towing capacity and an 835kg payload.
On the inside of the Shark there's a modern-looking 12.8-inch touchscreen with wireless smartphone mirroring for Apple CarPlay. There's also wireless phone charging, a head-up display and a full 360-degree camera.
Importantly, the BYD Shark is the first competitor to emerge to the Ford Ranger PHEV, and it will arrive in the key Australian market ahead of the Blue Oval pick-up truck.
BYD have been on an aggressive spree of new vehicle launcheds with a range of attractive and competitively priced electric cars.
Their introduction to the pick-up truck segment is the brand's first forray into the 4x4 commercial vehicle market outside of China. However, BYD has a burgeoning portfolio and it is widely expected that vans and pick-up trucks will be a growth area for the brand in Europe. BYD already sells the BYD T3 van in some European markets including Norway, where electric vehicle uptake is currently the highest in the world.
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