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BYD Shark 6 2025 review


In case you haven’t noticed we’re in the middle of a once-in-a-generation automotive extinction-level event.

What started with the departure of local car manufacturing in Australia, has evolved into new car sales charts transformed by the arrival of electrification and the progress of hybridisation.

To top it off, new brands, particularly from China, are making an impact now more than ever.

It’s perhaps fitting then BYD has called its first ute the Shark 6. It’s a new apex predator designed specifically to show not even Australia’s favourite light commercial vehicles are safe from the tides of change.

Is this first-of-its-kind plug-in hybrid more than just a headline-grabber? Does it have what it takes to be a genuine threat to some of Australia’s most entrenched ute nameplates like HiLux and Ranger? Read on to see what we think.

Price and features – Does it represent good value for the price? What features does it come with? 9/10

The BYD Shark 6 arrives in Australia in just one all-wheel drive variant. Priced at $57,900, before on-road costs, it’s more expensive than most rival Chinese challenger utes, but it’s more affordable than the most popular 4x4 versions of the HiLux (SR5) and Ranger (XLT) and keep in mind, it’s a plug-in hybrid, too.

It’s also worth noting the Shark 6 is dimensionally larger than the usual crop of dual-cabs from Japanese brands, it steps into an emerging size-bracket up, which it shares with the GWM Cannon Alpha.

To top it off, the standard equipment level is so high it includes things unexpected for the dual-cab segment.

2025 BYD Shark 6 (image: Tom White) 2025 BYD Shark 6 (image: Tom White)

From the outside, you’ll see 18-inch alloy wheels clad in Continental tyres, LED headlights and DRLs, aluminium roof racks, built-in LED lighting for the tray and puddle lamps in the doors, but the most impressive stuff is when you step into the cab.

Inside, the Shark 6 includes an array of cabin luxuries like full synthetic leather interior trimmings with power adjust as well as heating and ventilation in both front positions, a massive 15.6-inch multimedia touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, and built-in navigation, of course with BYD’s signature rotating screen feature.

It also gets a 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster, a genuine leather-wrapped steering wheel, a 12-speaker premium audio system, wireless phone charging, as well as keyless entry and push-start ignition.

  • 2025 BYD Shark 6 (image: Tom White) 2025 BYD Shark 6 (image: Tom White)
  • 2025 BYD Shark 6 (image: Tom White) 2025 BYD Shark 6 (image: Tom White)
  • 2025 BYD Shark 6 (image: Tom White) 2025 BYD Shark 6 (image: Tom White)
  • 2025 BYD Shark 6 (image: Tom White) 2025 BYD Shark 6 (image: Tom White)
  • 2025 BYD Shark 6 (image: Tom White) 2025 BYD Shark 6 (image: Tom White)

There’s a lot more competition in the passenger car space, especially for EVs and PHEVs when it comes to high-end software and screen-focused designs, but in the ute space the screens and relatively slick software in the Shark 6 are luxuries usually outside the scope of the segment.

Perhaps the one downside to the Shark 6 for the time being is the lack of variety. It at least initially ships with just three colour choices, blue, white and black, with only a single interior trim option.

At the price, though, it’s hard to argue with the sheer value of the Shark 6. Sure, it’s not a budget ute option by any means, but it’s an affordable plug-in hybrid and it offers more equipment than pretty much any ute in the class.

2025 BYD Shark 6 (image: Tom White) 2025 BYD Shark 6 (image: Tom White)

Of course, with a ute there’s always more to consider than just cabin luxuries and equipment, and there is more to the story when it comes to capability, so read on if these factors are important to you.

Design – Is there anything interesting about its design? 8/10

You have to behold the Shark 6 in the metal to appreciate it, in no small part because of its sheer size. It’s wider and taller than you expect, lending its boxy visage an imposing stance and a commanding presence on the road.

The exterior design is a little bold. There’s more than a hint of Ford F-150 in the Shark’s face, and the overt BYD badgework is a statement. The Chinese brand is clearly happy to stake its growing reputation on what the Shark offers.

Inside is next-level for the light commercial vehicle segment with the screen-centric design theme and lashings of soft-touch finishes and leather trims. Even the seats are plush and comfortable in both rows with convincing synthetic upholstery.

2025 BYD Shark 6 (image: Tom White) 2025 BYD Shark 6 (image: Tom White)

There is one argument which says a cabin as well appointed as this is a hindrance for work purposes. Chucking tools and equipment around will scuff things up, or at worst, potentially damage all the delicate equipment strewn throughout the cabin.

There’s definitely stock in this argument. I can hardly see the Shark 6 being used as a replacement for a work-spec ute destined to live a hard life.

On the other hand, it’s worth remembering the dual-cab is now the default family car choice for many buyers whose primary concern is how well equipped it is for life with kids and a dog, with its secondary purpose being as a work vehicle (with the ‘work’ largely confined to the tray) or as a weekend recreational off-roader.

  • 2025 BYD Shark 6 (image: Tom White) 2025 BYD Shark 6 (image: Tom White)
  • 2025 BYD Shark 6 (image: Tom White) 2025 BYD Shark 6 (image: Tom White)
  • 2025 BYD Shark 6 (image: Tom White) 2025 BYD Shark 6 (image: Tom White)

I think the Shark 6 primarily appeals to this sort of buyer. It all feels just a bit too fragile to see an impact drill thrown into the passenger seat or a toolbox covered in concrete dust tied down to the rear bench.

BYD has made some perhaps tokenistic effort to 'tough' the cabin up, with its chunky steering wheel and some cool switchgear in the centre console rounded out by a blocky design theme.

There are built-in fitted weatherproof mats for the floor which is a nice touch, but it’s maybe the opposite design ethos from something like the Ineos Grenadier which reverts to a hose-out interior. Maybe don’t get too much moisture near the screen.

2025 BYD Shark 6 (image: Tom White) 2025 BYD Shark 6 (image: Tom White)

Just quietly, I'm a bit disappointed there aren't more Shark references in the cabin as there are Dolphin or Seal references in BYD’s namesake models.

Still, the plush cabin design is impossible to beat in this segment, so if you’re a family buyer first and a work or play buyer second, it’s impossible to do better in the light commercial vehicle space.

Practicality – How practical is its space and tech inside? 7/10

The cabin is massive, with the Shark making the most of its boxy dimensions, and it also offers impressive adjustability for the driver and front passenger seats.

The high seating position provides a commanding view of the road with great overall visibility thanks to large mirrors and expansive window real-estate.

Entry and egress is bolstered by large side-steps and a multitude of grab-handles in the A-pillar and centre console and for long trips the seats are some of the most comfortable in the class.

Storage is also plentiful, with large bottle holders and pockets in the doors, a further two with adjustable ridges in the centre console, alongside a wireless phone charger and an immense armrest storage box.

2025 BYD Shark 6 (image: Tom White) 2025 BYD Shark 6 (image: Tom White)

The console is also home to an array of buttons for various drive-modes alongside the shift lever, but in terms of multimedia functions there’s only a physical on-off switch, a de-fog shortcut switch for the climate and a volume dial.

In what could be a bit of a deal-breaker for some, the rest of this car’s many functions are controlled exclusively by the touchscreen, which can, at times, have a confusing array of menus.

For example, the controls for fan speed, temperature, recirculate, and various other functions like the regenerative braking and steering modes are touchscreen only.

The climate screen is at least straightforward, but other features require some figuring out as the array of menus are inconsistently labelled (as with many other Chinese vehicles).

2025 BYD Shark 6 (image: Tom White) 2025 BYD Shark 6 (image: Tom White)

It’s not as bad as Tesla, at least offering a digital instrument cluster, and some physical control features, but it might be a bridge too far for some ute buyers.

Additionally, the software is okay but not great. It’s fast and looks reasonably good which beats out most Chinese rivals, but it’s a pretty blatant Android reskin which feels a little unfinished around the edges.

Particularly the digital dash looks pretty ordinary and only has one theme, with the information overload it offers on either side of the speedo being of questionable value.

Hopping in the second row it feels as though the Shark 6 offers unrivalled space compared to the usual crop of dual-cabs. I have leagues of kneeroom behind my own (182cm) driving position, and the cabin feels as wide as a big SUV also featuring a flat floor, making the middle position usable by an adult. Headroom is also good and the plush trims continue, too.

2025 BYD Shark 6 (image: Tom White) 2025 BYD Shark 6 (image: Tom White)

While the rear row also scores big grab handles and makes use of those side-steps, it also has an odd issue with the thickness of the B-pillar eating into entry space. I got my feet caught on it despite the amount of room you have once inside. Weird.

Storage for rear passengers is also good, with a large bottle holder in each door, and two more large ones in the drop-down armrest. There are also soft pockets on the backs of the front seats, adjustable air vents, a USB-C and USB-A port as well as a full-size household power outlet.

Additionally, the rear bench has some flexibility built in. You can raise the base to make for a larger storage area if you don’t need the seats, or you can fold the back forward revealing some limited space behind (good for charging cables, towbars and your V2L adapter, for example).

The tray measures 1200 litres according to BYD, with a large square space provided between the wheel arches. Keep an eye out for a future payload test for more on this, but the Shark 6 has a payload of 790kg.

2025 BYD Shark 6 (image: Tom White) 2025 BYD Shark 6 (image: Tom White)

Not bad considering it also has to lug around 30kWh of battery packs under the floor, but it’s also a far cry from the coveted one tonne payload rating achieved by some rivals.

However, the Shark 6 offers some other neat additions, like built-in LED lighting for the tray area and no less than three full-size power outlets which could be good for powering worksite equipment or household appliances even when you’re far from the power grid.

Towing specs are also off-the pace, as you might expect. The Shark 6 can tow 2500kg braked, which is a full tonne down on the accepted 3500kg segment standard, so it’s worth considering this if there’s the possibility you’ll need to tow significant loads.

Under the bonnet – What are the key stats for its engine and transmission? 9/10

Here’s where things get really loopy. Australian ute buyers are used to the idea of a rugged diesel engine up front, connected to the wheels via a chunky traditional transmission and usually a low-range capable transfer case.

BYD does things differently. It has a comparatively small 1.5-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine, which primarily acts as a range-extending generator, although it can provide drive to the front wheels in certain conditions from 70km/h.

The wheels are otherwise driven by two separate electric motors on each axle, and draw their power from a combination of the engine and a large 30kWh battery pack mounted centrally under the floor.

2025 BYD Shark 6 (image: Tom White) 2025 BYD Shark 6 (image: Tom White)

BYD says this is the world’s first longitudinally-mounted range-extender hybrid set-up, although usually the benefit of longitudinal mounting for the engine is a more direct connection to the rear axle, so outside of potential packaging benefits, I’m not sure what the upside of this is.

Regardless, the peak combined power of the electric motors is said to be 321kW/650Nm which is in some cases double the outputs of the Shark’s diesel rivals. As a result, BYD claims the Shark 6 can sprint from 0-100km/h in just 5.7 seconds (only slightly slower than a hot hatch), an impressive feat considering its 2710kg kerb weight.

Efficiency – What is its fuel consumption? What is its driving range? 10/10

Like all plug-in hybrids, the Shark 6 has a headline-grabbing official/combined fuel efficiency number of just 2.0L/100km.

Is this number achievable in the real world? The answer is maybe, because a huge battery pack grants the Shark 6 an NEDC electric-only driving range of 100km.

Now, usually NEDC is straight-up impossible to get in real driving conditions. The more accurate WLTP tends to be more possible (and has a correspondingly lower range number on most vehicles), but in my real-world test, the results were surprising.

As part of this test, I charged the Shark up to 100 per cent then drove it in electric mode only until it reached the reserve level and the engine was forced to turn back on, and was surprised to find it managed to travel a smidge over 90km in pure-electric mode. Considering its official number is NEDC I was expecting something like 70km, at most.

2025 BYD Shark 6 (image: Tom White) 2025 BYD Shark 6 (image: Tom White)

If you can charge it to 100 per cent each time, then it seems reasonable to get at least close to the official fuel consumption number.

On the topic of charging, the Shark 6 is a mixed bag. On the one hand, unlike many PHEVs, the BYD can charge on a fast DC connector at a rate of up to 55kW, which is necessary considering its large battery size.

This should get you from 25-80 per cent in around half an hour. My single charging session took the battery from 25-100 per cent (yep, you can charge BYD’s LFP battery to 100 per cent on DC), in just over 40 minutes.

On the other hand, the slow AC charging leaves a little to be desired. At a max rate of 7.0kW it’s faster than most PHEVs but the sheer size of its battery means you’ll need to plug in for four and a half hours to get it close to full.

2025 BYD Shark 6 (image: Tom White) 2025 BYD Shark 6 (image: Tom White)

In this case, an 11kW AC inverter could nearly halve this time, making it a simple task to top the Shark up at a public AC location.

Charging at home via a wall socket, meanwhile, will be a laborious task, taking in excess of 10 hours.

An additional part of my testing was a 400km loop from Sydney to regional areas and back. Set to 'Hybrid' mode, the battery ran out about a third of the way into the drive, and I had to rely on engine power for much of the journey.

Even with the battery depleted, though, a 140km freeway journey saw average fuel consumption of 9.5L/100km, just as good as most diesel utes in such conditions.

2025 BYD Shark 6 (image: Tom White) 2025 BYD Shark 6 (image: Tom White)

All in all, with a combined freeway portion and EV city driving portion, the car was reporting around 6.5L/100km of fuel consumption. Not bad at all, and with the near-genuine 100km electric driving range, for some use-cases, this could be close to zero.

Driving – What's it like to drive? 8/10

It takes about thirty seconds behind the wheel to realise the Shark 6 is bringing something entirely new to the ute segment. I can guarantee it is like nothing you have ever driven before.

Yes, it has the same elevated driving position, and a hint of the ladder frame ruggedness underneath, but that's where the similarities to most utes ends.

The cabin is near dead quiet, especially at city speeds. The combination of primarily electric drive and acoustic glass in the front makes the Shark 6 about the opposite of the usual ute cabin ambiance which is defined by diesel engine clatter and constant mechanical feedback from the gearbox or tyre rumble.

Instead, the Shark 6 offers a better cabin ambiance than some luxury SUVs. It’s so quiet and composed it’s almost uncanny. The road feels distant, power is delivered without the hesitancy of turbo lag or a reluctant transmission, and even the suspension, which consists of coil rather than leaf springs, is nice and quiet.

2025 BYD Shark 6 (image: Tom White) 2025 BYD Shark 6 (image: Tom White)

The ride is surprisingly smooth. Sure, the tune has a firmness to it, as does the frame, to help control the additional weight of the batteries. But unlike most dual-cabs, the Shark 6 is nice and balanced over both axles largely due to the all-coil set-up and a chassis design which places the weight of the batteries in the centre.

The steering is alarmingly light in its standard ‘Comfort’ setting, feeling much more like an EV than the usual mechanical feeling of ute steering.

It makes the big Shark 6 easy to manoeuvre and betrays its enormous kerb weight, but it has the side-effect of feeling artificial and detached from the road.

It could be a deal-breaker for some ute buyers, particularly off-roaders looking for a more organic feel. I found the heavier ‘Sport’ mode added a little feel and necessary heft back.

2025 BYD Shark 6 (image: Tom White) 2025 BYD Shark 6 (image: Tom White)

The light steering combines with the coil springs to make for a ute which drives far closer to an SUV than anything else in the class (even the Ford Ranger!).

It also handles corners relatively well, and soaks up most road imperfections with an almost magic-carpet like feel.

This is also helped along by a smart tyre choice offering lots of sidewall, and unlike BYD’s initial Atto 3, comes with a good Continental tyre from the factory.

As a result it handles urban duties with impressive ease, and I was also taken aback by how little gravel trails impacted it. In my adventures, corrugations and rough road textures were dispatched without fuss, with only the largest potholes being communicated with a stiff hit into the cabin, proving the limitations of the suspension.

2025 BYD Shark 6 (image: Tom White) 2025 BYD Shark 6 (image: Tom White)

When it comes to hybrid driving, the Shark 6 remains impressive. Due largely to it keeping a whopping 25 per cent battery in reserve, even when it reaches this level the engine makes minimal impact on refinement, for the most part just buzzing away at idle.

However, when more is asked of it at the reserve battery level, for example a sustained hill with a tall gradient, the engine will suddenly roar up to high RPM as it tries to keep the battery level stable. The result is an unpleasant buzzing engine tone entering the cabin.

It’s still more distant than when you ask a lot of a Toyota hybrid, but noticeable regardless. A bit hard to complain when you’ll hear it a fraction of the time, or perhaps never, in regular driving situations.

On the whole the Shark 6 is immensely impressive, especially considering the price. Not only is it a good plug-in hybrid, it does a remarkable job of showing what ute owners have been missing out on. Australia’s favourite dual cabs should be worried.

Safety – What safety equipment is fitted? What is its safety rating? 8/10

The Shark 6 has an extensive list of active safety equipment including auto emergency braking, lane keep assist with lane departure warning, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, front cross-traffic alert, rear auto braking, adaptive high beams, driver attention alert, traffic sign recognition and door open warning.

On top of this it also gets a few ute-specific features like trailer stability control and hill descent assist with a hill hold feature. It also has several terrain driving modes which alter the traction response of the electric motors.

There are also front and rear parking sensors with a 360-degree camera suite and seven airbags (dual front, front side and curtain, with a far-side airbag for the driver).

Suffice to say it’s plenty of safety equipment, particularly for a ute, but is the active stuff a help or a hindrance?

2025 BYD Shark 6 (image: Tom White) 2025 BYD Shark 6 (image: Tom White)

In my time with the Shark 6 the safety systems were mostly well behaved, particularly the lane keep assist, which tends to be a pet peeve in a lot of newer cars.

However, the driver attention alert system is pretty annoying. Not so much in its frequency, but more in its inconsistency. Sometimes it frequently beeped at me, other times it would leave me alone for the whole trip. Odd. I also found it ironic it almost always beeped at me as I was trying to figure out the touchscreen-only climate functions. Go figure.

The adaptive cruise control suffers from similar consistency issues. Sometimes it will virtually drive itself, taking over the steering and keeping itself centre in the lane, then if it encounters a corner it doesn't like it demands you re-take control, requiring constant vigilance. 

The systems are good, but they’re also far from perfect.

Ownership – What warranty is offered? What are its service intervals? What are its running costs? 7/10

BYD offers the Shark 6 with a six-year and 150,000km vehicle warranty, which is a little different from the usual five-year and unlimited kilometres most rivals are covered by. Additionally, the high-voltage battery is covered for a more industry-standard eight-years and 160,000km.

The service schedule is posted on BYD’s website and extends all the way out to 11 years or 220,000km. Most scheduled visits during this time cost $360, however there are some pretty significant stings along the way. The 40,000km service comes in at $788, while the 80,000km service costs a whopping $1727 in a single visit.

All said and done, over the life of the six-year warranty, the Shark 6 will cost an average of $778 per year, which is surprisingly expensive for a vehicle with a primarily electric powertrain.

The BYD Shark 6 is not just a huge step for BYD, it’s possibly one of the most important products launched in Australia in recent years.

Make no mistake, it’s not the toughest ute out there with the best hauling specs, and of course it’s also yet to prove its longevity. But it’s also not doing things in the way we’ve come to expect from utes like the HiLux and Ranger.

Instead, BYD has built a ute its own way, offering enviable levels of technology and an innovative powertrain. I’ve never driven a ute as mould-breaking as this. BYD is offering revolution rather than evolution.

$57,900

Based on new car retail price

VIEW PRICING & SPECS

Score

4.2/5
Price Guide

$57,900

Based on new car retail price

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