2025 BYD Shark 6 demand outstripping supply as first arrivals near

BYD’s Australian distributor says it has now recorded close to 4000 orders for the new Shark 6 plug-in hybrid (PHEV) ute.

EVDirect says prospective customers – as well as those who have already ordered Shark 6s – can register their interest to test-drive the ute at “select” BYD Experience Centres.

While there are already vehicles on the ground being used for events, EVDirect says the first ‘fleet’ of Shark 6s will arrive in December.

More examples will dock in January 2025, with customer deliveries beginning later that month.

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Orders opened on October 29, 2024, and within minutes the BYD Australia website went down.

A total of 800 orders were placed in that short space of time, and though the site was down for more than three hours the company still logged a total of 1400 orders within the first 12 hours.

The company had previously confirmed it would bring in 2000 examples of the ute, and late last month confirmed it was investigating whether it could bring an additional 1000 examples in this first batch.

We’ve contacted the company to confirm whether there have been any changes to supply numbers.

“We knew there was a very strong appetite for Shark in Australia, but the response has been nothing short of exceptional,” said EVDirect CEO David Smitherman.

“We’re seeing the true impact of this momentum both in sales and enquiries, and are confident the Shark will be a staple on Aussie roads as of next year.”

BYD has beat other PHEV utes like the Ford Ranger PHEV and GWM Cannon Alpha Hi-4T to market with the Shark 6.

It’s coming to Australia in just one version, priced at $57,900 before on-road costs, undercutting the likes of the Ford Ranger XLT Bi-Turbo dual-cab ($63,640 before on-roads), and the Toyota HiLux SR5 with V-Active Technology ($63,260 before on-roads).

Powering the Shark 6 is a turbocharged 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine, plus two electric motors (one on each axle), and a 29.58kWh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery pack.

The powertrain produces total outputs of 321kW and 650Nm, sent to all four wheels.

BYD claims an electric-only driving range of 100km (NEDC), with fuel economy as low as 2.0L/100km when running as a hybrid with the battery charged.

While it has more power and torque than almost all of its dual-cab rivals, and is quicker to 100km/h than even the Ford Ranger Raptor, the Shark 6 has a braked towing capacity of just 2500kg – down on the 3500kg figure of most Ranger models, including the upcoming PHEV.

MORE: Everything BYD Shark 6MORE: 2025 BYD Shark 6 review: Quick drive