An upgraded BYD Shark 6 dual-cab – featuring 3.5-tonne braked towing and a plug-in hybrid powertrain with more grunt – is nearing an Australian launch.
The more capable plug-in hybrid (PHEV) ute has now appeared in Australian Government certification documents, indicating a local launch isn’t far off – though timing has yet to be confirmed.
CarExpert understands this new variant will sit above the existing Shark 6 Premium, which is priced at $57,900 before on-road costs (and which is currently being offered for $57,900 drive-away).
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The more powerful Shark 6 features a 180kW 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine mated with 200kW front and 150kW rear electric motors, for a total system output of 345kW.
In contrast, the current Shark 6 uses a 135kW 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine and electric motors producing 170kW and 150kW, for a total output of 321kW.
While the increase in total system power only works out to be 24kW, braked towing capacity jumps from 2500kg to 3500kg.
Tare mass is up slightly, from 2675kg to 2738kg, while the Shark 6 2.0T also features larger front brakes.
The new 2.0T powertrain is listed as being available only with the dual-cab pickup body style, and not the new dual-cab/chassis which is due for release during the first half of 2026.
No cosmetic differences are visible in the exterior images published in the documents, though these appear to be placeholder images and identical to the existing Shark 6.
While the Shark 6 launched only a few months before the rival Ford Ranger PHEV and GWM Cannon Alpha PHEV, it’s so far trouncing them in the sales race.
BYD delivered 18,073 examples last year, against 1371 Cannon Alpha PHEVs and 1143 Ranger PHEVs. That’s despite BYD having just one variant of the Shark 6.
It remains to be seen how much additional customers BYD will be able to attract this year with the launch of the cab/chassis and the more powerful 2.0T variant.