logo
Why this China-made BYD Shark pickup is drawing attention in the global truck market

Why this China-made BYD Shark pickup is drawing attention in the global truck market

NBC News27-01-2025

DETROIT — There's a Shark circling one of the greatest profit pools for American automakers globally, as Chinese automaker BYD Auto expands its reach and product portfolio with a pickup truck.
Without the vehicle's branding badge, the BYD Shark could pass as an American-made product. In many ways, it looks like a smaller pickup from Ford Motor. The China-made truck features uncanny exterior resemblances to a Ford Explorer mixed with the popular F-150 — part of the Ford brand's best-selling truck lineup in the U.S. for 48 years.
Much like BYD's Seagull — a small all-electric hatchback that starts at just 69,800 yuan (or less than $10,000) — there's fear among global automakers that Chinese rivals like the Warren Buffett -backed BYD could flood their markets, undercutting domestic production and vehicle prices to the detriment of their own auto industries.
BYD has not announced plans to sell the Shark in the U.S., but it has entered countries where General Motors, Ford and Toyota Motor sell pickup trucks, including Australia, Brazil and Mexico.
In the U.S., pickup trucks are the bread-and-butter vehicles for the Detroit automakers, combining for millions of units of sales annually. They've also become increasingly important for Toyota in the U.S. and globally.
'When you consider the importance, from a revenue perspective, that these products bring to manufacturers, it's the franchise,' said Terry Woychowski, president of automotive at Caresoft Global who formerly was a chief engineer of GM's full-size trucks. 'There's been a lot of interest in this vehicle because of the market.'
Caresoft, an engineering benchmarking and consulting firm, has torn down and examined roughly 40 China-built EVs from the likes of BYD, Nio and others.
The Michigan-based company digitally and physically analyzes every part of a vehicle, from bolts and latches to seats, motors and battery casings. It then determines how its clients — mainly automakers and suppliers — can improve efficiencies and cut costs in their products.
Drawing attention
Automakers such as Ford and Toyota that rely heavily on sales of smaller pickup trucks globally have taken notice of the BYD Shark.
'It's a great product. It's sold well. They're trying to sell in high volume in Mexico, but it's also being localized in Thailand,' Ford CEO Jim Farley said when asked by CNBC earlier this month about the BYD Shark. 'If we want to be a global player in pickups, like we are now, we have to compete.'
While Ford's F-150 reigns supreme in the U.S., Toyota's Hilux has been the top-selling truck outside of North America for many years. Toyota has sold 19.8 million Hilux trucks since its introduction in 1968, including a record of 851,000 units in 2022.
When asked about Chinese competitors earlier this month, Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda said the company 'needs to be prepared to respond to the global needs of the global markets,' regardless of the competition.
'We try to focus on the needs of each individual market and try to be best in town. So that will be the strategy that we have,' Toyoda said during a media roundtable at the CES tech conference.
BYD reportedly exported more than more than 10,000 BYD Sharks in 2024. Such sales are expected to increase going forward, especially as the company prepares to expand production.
BYD has grown its share of vehicle exports from China from 2%, or less than 56,000 units, in 2022 to 8% in 2024, or 350,500 units, according to BofA Securities.
Exporting has continued to assist BYD in increasing its sales globally to approximately 4.3 million vehicles in 2024, up from roughly 3 million a year earlier. Wall Street analysts expect that to continue to grow this year to roughly 5.5 million this year, according to Goldman Sachs.
'BYD is starting to tap into the overseas market with compelling (highly competitive, innovative) products, which we expect could become a second growth driver for the company, contributing 31% of incremental vehicle sales volume over 2022-2030E, Goldman Sachs analyst Tina Hou said in a Jan. 14 investor note.
The BYD Shark is expected to help the automaker grow its sales and profits. It's a midsize pickup truck — which has a smaller market in the U.S. compared to globally — with a plug-in hybrid powertrain that combines electric vehicle components such as a battery and electric motors with a small 1.5-liter internal combustion engine.
The vehicle can operate as an all-electric vehicle or have the engine power its batteries and electric motors, with a range of more than 500 combined miles between the battery and engine, according to BYD.
The Shark starts at about 899,980 pesos ($44,000) in Mexico. That's far more than BYD's other models but still much cheaper than many hybrid or all-electric trucks in the U.S. It's in line with pricing of midrange models of the Ford Ranger and Toyota Tacoma midsize pickup trucks in Mexico.
Benchmarking Ford, GM
Taking the BYD Shark for a spin on private property with a mix of smooth and broken pavement in Michigan, the pickup truck drives well. Its acceleration is quick, but not as fast as the Tesla Cybertruck or GM's all-electric pickups. It's quiet, but there's definitely room for improvements to the ride and handling, which feel a bit less refined than current trucks in the U.S.
The overall build quality of the Shark is impressive, but there are quirky elements of the vehicle as well as some 'shared' best practices with current pickups by Ford and GM, according to Woychowski.
Some familiar practices and elements include the overall exterior design being similar to the F-150, including its lighting and a pullout tailgate step; the front seat interior design resembling Toyota; and certain production aspects of the vehicle being used from other trucks. Most notably, its frame — the backbone of the vehicle — is dipped in wax. That's a process to reduce corrosion that GM has been doing for decades, according to Woychowski.
'You can tell where they benchmarked and whom,' Woychowski said while inspecting the vehicle's underbody. 'Ford back here, GM under there and Toyota over there.'
That's not to say the vehicle isn't unique. While Caresoft still needs to tear down the Shark to understand its build processes and parts better, the vehicle's interior design and, most notably, its hybrid powertrain is unlike anything currently offered in the U.S.
For example, some of the battery technologies are placed under the back seats, eliminating storage space, and there are bungee cords to hold up the vehicle's back bench seat when it's folded.
'This is actually quite poorly done,' Woychowski said regarding the back seat. 'I would watch this space. I bet they fix this up quite nicely.'
Other not-so-easy to spot unusual elements include an over-engineered rear suspension with dual control arms (instead of one each); a considerably straight frame; an unnecessary amount of jack lifts under the vehicle for lifting it; and using hydraulic arms for the heavy tailgate, he said.
Woychowski said clients have taken particular interest in Chinese automakers, including BYD, because of their growth and quickness in developing new products and making improvements to existing models.
'It's a credible truck,' Woychowski said about the Shark. 'There's some things they did very well. There's some things that they can do to clean it up, but that's not a hard job to do.'
— CNBC's Michael Bloom contributed to this report.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

China and U.S. agree on framework to implement Geneva trade consensus
China and U.S. agree on framework to implement Geneva trade consensus

NBC News

time28 minutes ago

  • NBC News

China and U.S. agree on framework to implement Geneva trade consensus

The U.S. and China have reached consensus on trade, representatives from both sides said following a second day of high-level talks in London, according to an NBC transcript. 'We have reached a framework to implement the Geneva consensus and the call between the two presidents,' U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said. That echoed comments from the Chinese side, shared via a translator. Lutnick said he and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer will head back to Washington, D.C., to 'make sure President Trump approves' the framework. If Xi also approves it, then 'we will implement the framework,' Lutnick said. Earlier, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters he was headed back to the U.S. in order to testify before Congress on Wednesday.

Trump to sign resolutions nixing California's EV rules, sources
Trump to sign resolutions nixing California's EV rules, sources

Reuters

timean hour ago

  • Reuters

Trump to sign resolutions nixing California's EV rules, sources

June 10 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump will sign three resolutions on Thursday approved by lawmakers barring California's electric vehicle sales mandates and diesel engine rules, auto industry and House aides told Reuters. Trump is signing resolutions of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act to bar California's landmark plan to end the sale of gasoline-only vehicles by 2035, which has been adopted by 11 other states and representing a third of the U.S. auto market. Trump will sign one resolution to repeal a waiver granted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under former Democratic President Joe Biden in December, allowing California to mandate that at least 80% of vehicles be electric vehicles by 2035. The White House declined to comment. The White House invited numerous auto industry officials to attend the signing on Thursday, sources said. Trump will also sign a resolution approved by Congress to rescind the EPA's 2023 approval of California's plans to require a rising number of zero-emission heavy-duty trucks, and another resolution on California's low-NOx, or low-nitrogen oxide, regulation for heavy-duty highway and off-road vehicles and engines. The signing is a win for General Motors (GM.N), opens new tab, Toyota (7203.T), opens new tab, auto dealers and other automakers that heavily lobbied against the rules, and a blow to California and environmental groups that say the requirements are essential to ensuring cleaner vehicles and cutting pollution. California announced a plan in 2020 to require that by 2035 at least 80% of new cars sold be electric and up to 20% plug-in hybrid models. California Governor Gavin Newsom has vowed to challenge the repeals in court, saying the action by Congress is illegal and would cost California taxpayers an estimated $45 billion in additional health care costs. Since 1970, California has received more than 100 waivers under the Clean Air Act. The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, representing GM, Toyota, Volkswagen ( opens new tab Hyundai ( opens new tab Stellantis ( opens new tab and others, previously praised the repeal. "The fact is these EV sales mandates were never achievable," the group's CEO, John Bozzella, said. "In reality, meeting the mandates would require diverting finite capital from the EV transition to purchase compliance credits from Tesla." These are the latest actions in recent months taking aim at electric vehicles. A separate bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives in May would end a $7,500 tax credit for new EVs, impose a new $250 annual fee on EVs for road repair costs and repeal vehicle emissions rules designed to prod automakers into building more EVs. It would also phase out EV battery production tax credits in 2028.

2025 Ford Bronco Pricing Will Have Hardcore Off-Roaders Smiling
2025 Ford Bronco Pricing Will Have Hardcore Off-Roaders Smiling

Auto Blog

time5 hours ago

  • Auto Blog

2025 Ford Bronco Pricing Will Have Hardcore Off-Roaders Smiling

Good News! The Most Badass Bronco Is More Affordable Ford is always quick to announce incentives just when it looks like automakers can't afford to take any more hits, and now it's about to make its most hardcore off-roader even cheaper. According to Bronco Nation, the Blue Oval is readying adjusted pricing for six variants of the Bronco, but not all of it is good news. While the particularly off-road-focused models at the top of the tree will get trimmed MSRPs, and the Raptor shaves more than $10,000 off, lower-hanging fruit is about to become a little harder to reach. Worse still, the increases also impact color and other options. But we're being dramatic; the increases, for the most part, are minor. $1,000 Increases Are Not Too Bitter A Pill To Swallow As noted in the report, the 2025 Bronco arrived without any increases over the 2024 version, so these increases come with improvements. The smallest increase is for the Badlands Two Door, which now starts $290 higher at $50,095. The biggest increases come to both versions of the base Bronco, at $1,000, but most trims are unchanged or cheaper, with the kicker being that the Raptor is more than 10 grand cheaper, sneaking in under $80,000. In addition, the Badlands trim now has equal pricing between two- and four-door options. However, the prices you see mentioned above and below exclude a new destination charge, which has increased by a C-note and is now $1,995. MY2025 Bronco Trim 2024 Pricing 2025 Pricing Difference Base 2-Dr $37,995 $38,995 +$1,000 Base 4-Dr $37,995 $38,995 +$1,000 Badlands 2-Dr $50,095 $50,385 +$290 Badlands 4-Dr $51,385 $50,385 -$1,000 Stroppe Edition 2-Dr $75,635 $75,635 – Big Bend 4-Dr $40,370 $41,220 +$850 Heritage Edition 4-Dr $49,475 $49,475 – Outer Banks 4-Dr $47,940 $47,940 – Raptor 4-Dr $90,035 $79,995 -$10,040 Destination Charge $1,895 $1,995 +$100 Some Options Will Now Cost You More Source: Ford This might not necessarily be a big increase, but it's a big change: the 10-speed automatic, which is optional on some trims, will cost $300 more ($1,795 for 2025). Velocity Blue, Marsh Gray, and Desert Sand optional paints go up a hundred bucks to $395 for 2025, too, but that's it. Bronco Nation reports that the MSRP changes 'went into effect on June 2,' but don't take their word for it, nor ours: the 2025 Ford Bronco configurator already reflects the updates. Sadly, more mainstream models in the Ford lineup have seen increases, but who knows? If Ford stays true to form, we may see more incentives in the next quarter, which is almost upon us. About the Author Sebastian Cenizo View Profile

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store