Lethe
Captain
The most immediate competition for Shark PHEV in Australia will of course be the high-end ute market generally, particularly upper trims of the Ford Ranger (Wildtrak, Platinum, Raptor) which has established itself as the new benchmark for utes in the Australian market. Ford also intends to launch a Ranger PHEV here in 2025. When that happens, it will become Shark's most direct competitor.
Looking at power, payload, towing capacity and likely price, the closest match for BYD Shark PHEV that will be available on the Australian market during Shark's launch window is Ford's Ranger Raptor (3.0L V6 twin-turbo petrol with peak outputs of 292kW/583nM*, 715kg payload, 2500kg tow capacity). Notably, the Ranger Raptor is a considerably revised "sport" variant that explicitly compromises on payload and towing capacity in order to enhance off-road performance and driving dynamics via revised suspension components and the like**. It remains to be seen whether BYD Shark will have similar dynamic prowess, but as a more general purpose vehicle it seems unlikely.
Relative to upper trim Ranger variants other than Raptor, Shark is notably down on both payload (835kg vs. 912/1010kg for Platinum and Wildtrak variants respectively) and towing capacity (2500kg vs. 3500kg). I don't necessarily think those are crippling deficits, it's more an issue for the marketing department than a consequential shortfall for the majority of prospective buyers. Indeed it is often said that it is unwise if not outright irresponsible to tow at the maximum 3500kg capacity that many of these "mid-size" ICE utes (HiLux, Ranger, D-Max, etc.) are officially rated for, and the math in relation to doing so while still complying with both GVM and GCM limits is often dubious also. But nonetheless it is at least a perceptual challenge for BYD and will require the marketing department to emphasise Shark's strengths in other areas, such as the various applications of V2L capability.
* Not that it is really relevant, but Ranger Raptor is one of the few petrol-powered utes on the market here. The vast majority of utes sold in Australia, including the vast majority of Rangers, use diesel engines.
** Savagegeese has a great video on the Ranger Raptor .
Looking at power, payload, towing capacity and likely price, the closest match for BYD Shark PHEV that will be available on the Australian market during Shark's launch window is Ford's Ranger Raptor (3.0L V6 twin-turbo petrol with peak outputs of 292kW/583nM*, 715kg payload, 2500kg tow capacity). Notably, the Ranger Raptor is a considerably revised "sport" variant that explicitly compromises on payload and towing capacity in order to enhance off-road performance and driving dynamics via revised suspension components and the like**. It remains to be seen whether BYD Shark will have similar dynamic prowess, but as a more general purpose vehicle it seems unlikely.
Relative to upper trim Ranger variants other than Raptor, Shark is notably down on both payload (835kg vs. 912/1010kg for Platinum and Wildtrak variants respectively) and towing capacity (2500kg vs. 3500kg). I don't necessarily think those are crippling deficits, it's more an issue for the marketing department than a consequential shortfall for the majority of prospective buyers. Indeed it is often said that it is unwise if not outright irresponsible to tow at the maximum 3500kg capacity that many of these "mid-size" ICE utes (HiLux, Ranger, D-Max, etc.) are officially rated for, and the math in relation to doing so while still complying with both GVM and GCM limits is often dubious also. But nonetheless it is at least a perceptual challenge for BYD and will require the marketing department to emphasise Shark's strengths in other areas, such as the various applications of V2L capability.
* Not that it is really relevant, but Ranger Raptor is one of the few petrol-powered utes on the market here. The vast majority of utes sold in Australia, including the vast majority of Rangers, use diesel engines.
** Savagegeese has a great video on the Ranger Raptor .
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