Hear
The midsize pickup segment has a new competitor: it is Chinese, hybrid and more powerful than the rest of the participants.
Baptized “Shark” (shark in Spanish), the medium pickup is the latest development from BYDthe hybrid and electric car manufacturer from the Asian country that has been making strong strides in the automotive sector since last year and whose expansion strategy is gaining increasing speed.
In this case, The focus is on Latin America. The Shark was presented on May 14 at an event in Mexico City, the country chosen for the official debut; although it will also be available in several countries in the region. These include Chili, BrazilUruguay and Central America.
In the first instance, the units will arrive imported from China. In a second stage, according to what BYD executives commented, the Shark would begin to be manufactured in Brazil, where the firm bought the plant that belonged to Ford and is in the process of restoring and expanding that factory to begin mega production starting in 2025.
For now, there are no landing plans or in Europe nor in USA. In the latter, Joe Biden announced a series of tariff increases on a range of Chinese imports. One of these was the quadrupling of tariffs on electric vehicles made in China.
The design of the first BYD pickup is robustwith rectilinear angles, stringer chassis and, in the lower part, black plastic details and silver protections.
Its dimensions exceed those of the Toyota Hilux and are close to the size of a full-size pickup: 5.46 meters long, 1.97 meters wide, 1.92 meters high and a wheelbase of 3.26 meters. It can tow up to 2.5 tons and load up to 835 kilos.
In the segment, it will compete with the Hilux, Ford Ranger, Nissan Frontier, Chevrolet S10 and Volkswagen Amarok, among others.
The design director, Wolfgang Egger, was inspired by sharks and futuristic technology to create the concept of the Shark. Its lateral proportions, marked by the fluid lines of the body, “reflect the elegant movement of a shark in deep waters.” On the other hand, at the rear there is a through light inspired by a shark’s fin.
Inside doors, the cabin has a 10.25 inch LCD instrument panel, a 12.8-inch adaptive rotating screen and 540 degree cameras. It has a total of 10 storage spaces.
The interior design bears the signature of Michele Jauch-Paganetti, who says he was inspired by spaceship consoles to define the interior space of the Shark.
In matters of mechanicsthe Shark, which will be offered in more than one version although all the details are not yet available, adopts the platform DMO (Dual Motor Off-Road) that allows the integration of different technologies.
In its top-of-the-range version, Shark Plug In-Hybrid, it combines a 1.5-liter turbocharged engine with two electric motors (one on each axle), generating more than 430 HP of power and acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h in just 5.7 seconds.
Regarding its autonomy, in exclusively electric mode its range is 100 kilometers, and its autonomy total reaches 840 kilometers; with 40 kW fast charging option, which allows you to upload from 30% to 80% in 20 minutes.
The Shark is now available in Mexico, where it can be reserved through the website or through its dealer network. In matters of pricesthe values disseminated in the North American country are between 899,980 and 969,800 Mexican pesos, equivalent to US$52,940 and US$57,047, respectively.
“By introducing our first alternative-powered pickup truck, we demonstrate that we are prepared to redefine the landscape of this type of conventionally fueled vehicle through advanced technology,” he said. Stella Li, Executive Vice President of BYD and CEO of BYD Americas.
If the pickup is produced in Brazil from 2025, it could reach the Argentina given the advantage that Mercosur offers.
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