BYD working on Ford F-150 rival for Australia

Top-selling Chinese brand BYD is working on a full-size pickup, with its Asia Pacific boss confirming the company hasn’t abandoned plans for a larger dual-cab despite higher fuel prices.

Speaking to media in Melbourne, BYD Asia Pacific boss Liu Xueliang confirmed the brand – which placed third behind only Toyota and Kia in Australian sales last month – is continuing development of a larger ute to sit above its Shark 6 plug-in hybrid (PHEV).

While the Shark 6 rivals the Ford Ranger and Toyota HiLux in size, the larger model would compete with full-size locally converted US pickups such as the Ford F-150, Ram 1500, Chevrolet Silverado and Toyota Tundra currently on sale in Australia.

Mr Liu said feedback from Australian customers has highlighted demand for a larger ute, particularly from fleet buyers including mining companies.

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“Some customers have requested a full-size Shark 6, similar in size to the Ford F-150,” he said, adding: “We are on our way to try to get there.”

No launch timing or further details have been confirmed for the larger BYD pickup.

It comes as BYD unveiled the first cab/chassis version of the Shark 6, which Mr Xueliang said was introduced in response to local customer feedback.

While the company has not confirmed a powertrain for its entry into the full-size segment, BYD currently produces only hybrid and battery-electric vehicles, meaning it is likely to adopt a hybrid setup similar to the Shark 6.

Of the current full-size pickups on sale in Australia, only the Tundra is offered with a hybrid powertrain, which Toyota will also introduce in the LandCruiser 300 Series later this year.

Rivals such as the Ford F-150 employ a turbocharged V6 petrol engine, while the Ram 1500 features a twin-turbo inline six-cylinder and the Chevrolet Silverado retains a 6.2-litre petrol V8.

The larger ute would compete in a smaller segment than the Shark 6, which sits in the high-volume mid-size ute category dominated by the Ranger, which recorded 56,555 sales in 2025.

By comparison, the Silverado was the best-selling full-size pickup with 3863 sales last year, with the segment totalling 8763 deliveries. Excluding larger 2500-class pickups, however, the Ram 1500 was the top-seller with 2674 sales.

Sales of full-size pickups have increased by 3.2 per cent so far in 2026, including in March despite record fuel prices across the country.

The Shark 6 became the first BYD pickup offered in Australia when it was launched in late 2024 in a single dual-cab pickup body style. Before BYD announced the higher-output Performance version and the Dynamic cab/chassis last week, it was available with a single all-wheel drive PHEV powertrain and in a single Premium equipment grade.

Despite this, the Shark 6 was Australia’s best-selling PHEV ute last year with 18,073 deliveries (thanks in large part to its low $57,900 starting price before on-road costs), followed by the GWM Cannon Alpha PHEV (1371 sales, priced from $61,490 drive-away) and Ranger PHEV (1143 sales, from $71,990 plus ORCs).

MORE: Explore the BYD Shark 6 showroom