BYD Shark 6 Premium 2025 Review

Chinese brand begins the plug-in hybrid revolution for dual-cab utes

By carsales.com.au

If ever there was an appropriate name, it’s this, the BYD Shark 6.

It’s a predator among its prehistoric peers that has the potential to re-shape the future of the Australia’s most popular segment, the dual-cab ute.

The BYD Shark 6 boots out a traditional diesel-powered drivetrain and four-wheel drive system with low range gearing and differential locks and replaces it all with a plug-in hybrid system that strives to behave like an electric vehicle as much as possible.

Add to that sub $60k pricing and a luxury equipment list and the Shark 6 is shaping up as a genuine gamechanger.

However, the cars evaluated for this first Australian drive were pre-production prototypes, we experienced them almost entirely off-road for a limited time, and they came with superseded suspension and software tuning.

As good as the Shark 6 is promising to be, many questions remain.

How much does the BYD Shark 6 Premium cost?

There is just a single specification of the BYD Shark 6 plug-in hybrid that costs $57,900 plus on-road costs and comes equipped with a long list of standard features, which we’ll cover next.

Essentially, that positions it against mid-level rivals like the Ford Ranger XLT with the same level of features as a flagship Ranger Platinum.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-t4uRA75BI

Since its arrival in Australia showrooms late last year as the first plug-in hybrid in its class, the BYD Shark 6 has been joined by the Ford Ranger PHEV and GWM Cannon Alpha PHEV, both of which are available in multiple trim levels but have higher entry prices of $71,990 for the Ranger XLT PHEV and $61,490 for the Cannon Alpha Lux respectively.

What standard equipment does the BYD Shark 6 Premium feature?

The single specification BYD Shark 6 dual-cab ute includes a generous amount of standard equipment, including:

• 18-inch alloy wheels
• LED headlights and taillights
• Side steps
• Roof rails
• Heated and electronically folding rear view mirrors
• Rear privacy glass
• Power adjustable front seats with heating and ventilation
• Synthetic leather trim
• Keyless entry with push-button start
• 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster
• 15.6-inch rotating infotainment touchscreen
• Bluetooth connectivity
• Smartphone mirroring
• Embedded satellite navigation

What safety features does the BYD Shark 6 Premium have?

The BYD Shark 6 comes equipped with a comprehensive suite of advanced driver aids and crash avoidance features and scored a maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating under the latest 2025 protocols.

The cabin is fitted with seven airbags, including a far-side unit between the front seats, and its long list of safety systems include autonomous emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, lane keeping assistance, traffic sign recognition, blind spot monitoring, front and rear cross traffic braking, front and rear parking sensors, driver fatigue monitoring, and a 360-degree parking display.

What is the BYD Shark 6 Premium like inside?

For all the groundbreaking stuff under the skin, the BYD Shark 6’s interior design is fairly orthodox with the exception of the rotating centre screen and two-spoke steering wheel.

Otherwise, the high level of equipment and synthetic leather trim make it feel more car like and luxurious than many of its trade-focused rivals.

The digital information contained in the dash and touchscreen is fairly complex though and could take some time to get your head around.

The Shark 6 does cover the fundamentals pretty well, with supportive front seats, good vision and plenty of small item storage spaces throughout the cabin.

Those in the back are treated to a generous amount of space but may find the seat backs are more reclined than usual.

What is the under the bonnet of the BYD Shark 6 Premium?

At the heart of the BYD Shark 6 is a plug-in hybrid powertrain the Chinese brand dubs DM-O (dual-mode off-road), which comprises a 1.5-litre turbo-petrol engine, an electric motor on each axle and a 29.5kWh LFP battery pack mounted into the traditional ladder frame chassis.

The combined outputs are up to 321kW and 650Nm (in sport mode only) and except for eco mode when the rear motor shuts down, this vehicle had variable all-wheel drive all the time.

There are no low range gears, no differential locks and not even a live rear axle. Instead, it rides on independent double wishbone suspension.

BYD reckons the instant electric torque and traction control ensures the Shark 6 can tackle most off-road obstacles. But it also admits the Shark 6 has been tuned to drive nicely on-road, rather than be a rock star.

How fuel efficient is the BYD Shark 6 Premium?

Obviously, fuel consumption is going to be one of the key areas where it should gain friends … or not.

The official claim is about 80km of zero emissions running when in EV mode, 2.0L/100km when in hybrid mode and the battery state of charge is over 25 per cent. Below that and the claim is 7.9L/100km.

The Shark 6 has a 60-litre fuel tank and is optimised to run on 95RON premium unleaded.

We were able to fossick around in the drive computers of a couple of the Shark 6s on test and the figures were interesting. Over the previous 50km (so the duration of our drive basically, which included some heavy throttle use) one had averaged 15.6kWh/100km and 15.6L/100km while the other one was on 14.8kWh/100km and 14.8L/100km.

Longer term consumption over 9390km for one of the Shark 6s was listed at 11.3L/100km and 2.6kWh/100km.

Over 2667km, another one was on 7.0L/100km and 9.3kWh/100km. We wonder which is more indicative of real world use?

What is the BYD Shark 6 Premium like to drive?

There’s a lot riding on the BYD Shark 6 and how its unconventional hybrid powertrain performs, particular in heavy-duty off-road and load-lugging scenarios.

On first impression, it’s a game changer. The immediacy and smoothness of the torque delivery renders every diesel ute uncultured and laboured by comparison. This powertrain’s ease of access and use makes the Shark 6 the choice for city and urban driving, whether it be as the weekday work vehicle or the weekend family runabout.

The key to all this? The petrol engine is subsumed to the electric motors as much as possible. To all intents and purposes, it mostly drives like an EV. When the engine does kick in to recharge the battery or drive the wheels (above 70km/h and then only sometimes) it does so in a quiet and smooth way.

But this is a multifaceted and somewhat two-faced powertrain, in the best possible way. Yep, you can dawdle around all day in the traffic emitting zero emissions. But when the time comes and you sink the slipper, this thing flies.

Its 5.7 seconds 0-100km/h time is faster than the twin-turbo Ford Ranger Raptor! It’s quite the experience on dirt because traction is immense and response immediate – it just takes off and flies … quietly.

And all achieved with little or no fuel use if you keep the battery charged up.

There is a fair degree of driver control here, too. The powertrain mode (EV, HEV) can be selected or left to do its own thing, there are three on-road drive modes, four off-road drive modes, two steering and two brake modes.

Aiding the Shark 6’s urban driving appeal is an electric-assist steering system that is light and direct in the less sporting of the two selectable modes. It may not be what you want when picking through some rocky trail, but on the street it will work well, helping negate all that length and the broad 13.5m turning circle.

Having said all that, the vast bulk of our driving in these pre-production vehicles was off-road.

Still, the forest roads were despatched quietly and relatively comfortably – BYD says it has conducted more than 1.5 million km of testing on 150 Aussie road types with the Shark 6 and it does feel well-sorted.

The main issue was underestimating the speed because the Shark 6 is so quiet and then having to jump on the brakes (discs all-round – nice) it’s hard to avoid launching off a water bar.

We do have some issues we’ll note further along. However, the production tune has moved on from the cars we tested, so more assessment is needed.

We did try some moderate cross-axle off-roading to try out the traction control-based 4x4 system and test wheel articulation. Both were able to deal with the challenges. There are four off-road modes that retune traction control to suit different conditions.

Essentially the electric motors are instantly modulated when spin is detected and the disc brakes clamp on afterwards.

Sand mode seemed to work best, sensing wheels were off the ground, clamping them and redirecting drive. Rear articulation was limited but did not stop progress.

Ground clearance is a relatively modest 200mm (Ranger XLT is 234mm), but the only thing we touched down was the towbar.

Again, it’s worth noting these cars actually came with outdated software for the off-road modes, that was due to be replaced after our drive. There was no gravel mode, but apparently that might be included for production.

Hill descent control is also enabled by the front electric motor reversing polarity, so no squealing brakes. It worked well, but only at 8km/h. A software OTA will soon allow speeds to be varied by the driver.

The short time spent on-road in the Shark 6, the passive suspension ride-at-speed felt harsh when potholes were encountered mid-corner. Frame shimmy and rear wheel liveliness were familiar ute fare.

The steering at very low speed progressed in steps rather than smoothly. A talented tuner with a laptop will figure that out pretty quickly. And for me, the sport steering mode simply added too much effort.

It was also noticeable the Shark 6 is pretty chatty, advising you to put on your seatbelt, pay attention etcetera. It comes with the usual plethora of bings, bongs and self-steering aids. How intrusive they are and how easy they are to switch off remains to be seen.

Then we come to the towing and payload numbers. The Shark 6 claims a maximum payload of 790kg, which is light-on for a ‘one-tonne’ ute and a 2500kg maximum braked towing capacity, which is 1000kg off the best in class.

Combine the hefty 2710kg kerb weight, 5750kg Gross combined Mass and 250kg down ball and the Shark 6 comes out with a still acceptable 540kg payload at maximum towing capacity.

How much does the BYD Shark 6 Premium cost to maintain?

The BYD Shark 6 is covered by a six-year, 150,000km warranty with an eight year, 160,000km guarantee on the battery and traction motors, and one year of free roadside assistance.

Service intervals are every 12 months or 20,000km whichever comes first with a capped price servicing scheme for 11 years that costs an average of $552.45 for each visit.

Should I lease a BYD Shark 6 Premium?

The BYD Shark 6 breaks new ground in the dual-cab 4x4 ute segment.

But as tremendously impressive as the powertrain and sticker price are, there’s still some caution to be exercised here.

There’s a lot of new-tech – at least to Aussies – that’s on offer in a segment of the market where simplicity and relatively basic mechanicals have been the prerequisite.

Clearly, BYD has put a lot of effort into the ute’s local testing in Australia, and its PHEV tech development now stretches back a decade, so there’s some reasons to be confident.

But it’s so new and different for us and our environment it may be worthwhile to just hang back and see how the BYD Shark 6 behaves on local roads and conditions before diving in.