Australia will play a vital role in the development of BYD models sold around the world, not just locally, says the Chinese automaker.
Testing of models such as the BYD Shark 6 ute – which was extensively evaluated in Australia ahead of its local release in January 2025 – is designed to ensure local suitability, but models not sold here such as the Yangwang U8 large SUV from BYD’s luxury brand have also been spied testing on Australian roads.
Ford is the only automaker that still develops vehicles from the ground up in Australia, but several others including Kia and more recently GWM and Mitsubishi also conduct local chassis tuning in and for this market.
However, Australian input was critical for the plug-in hybrid Shark 6 dual-cab – a competitor for the top-selling, locally designed and engineered Ford Ranger sold around the world – just as it has been for other rivals including the upcoming Kia Tasman, which was repeatedly seen testing here ahead of its mid-year release.
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Yet BYD Australia product lead Sajid Hasan told CarExpert the local arm’s evaluation and engineering signoffs will be used to finetune suspension and other settings for the automaker’s global products.
“It’s important that we do local confirmation testing, rough-road durability, hot weather, climate, tow testing – all those kinds of things are being done to make sure that the products are suitable for Australian customers,” Mr Hasan said.
“For models like that [Shark 6], particularly off-road focussed vehicles, we’re in a fortunate position that in Australia, our roads represent 80 per cent of the world’s variety of roads.
“So we are a very critical market for right-hand drive development, and the kind of tuning and testing that gets done here is used in other areas of the world.”
The development of the Shark 6 included engineers from BYD’s Chinese headquarters joining Australian testing teams, with a particular focus on suspension as part of a broader vehicle assessment program.
BYDs sold in Australia – including the upcoming Atto 2 small SUV and the brand’s first seven-seat SUV, the Sealion 8 – will ride on locally tuned suspension instead of the ‘soft’ or more comfortable chassis tunes preferred by Chinese customers.
BYD says the feedback will influence right-hand drive models sold in countries like Japan, the UK and Cyprus – where BYD was launched on May 28 – as well as playing a role in left-hand drive vehicle development, too.
The popularity and variety of SUVs in Australia – where they accounted for more than half of all new vehicle sales in 2024 – makes local testing even more helpful for BYD HQ in China.
“It also gives us kind of an access, like a gateway, into the global development,” Mr Hasan told CarExpert.
“For certain models, like large SUVs and off-road focused SUVs, we’re a very important market because of our market size and demand for that type of vehicle.”
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