The BYD Shark truck made in China is a predator that haunts the global truck market

DETROIT — There’s a shark hanging around one of the biggest sources of profits for American automakers globally, as the Chinese automaker claims. AUTOMOBILE WORLD expands its reach and product portfolio with a pickup truck.

Without the vehicle’s brand badge, the BYD Shark could pass as an American-made product. In many ways, it looks like a smaller truck. Ford engine. The Chinese-made truck bears striking exterior similarities to a Ford Explorer mixed with the popular F-150, part of the Ford brand’s best-selling truck line in the U.S. for 48 years.

very similar BYD’s seagull – a small all-electric hatchback that starts at just 69,800 yuan (or less than $10,000) – there are fears among global automakers that their Chinese rivals will like the Warren BuffettThe firm’s backed BYD could flood its markets, undercutting domestic production and vehicle prices to the detriment of its own auto industries.

BYD has not announced plans to sell the Shark in the US, but it has entered countries where general motorsFord and ToyotaEngine They sell pickup trucks, including Australia, Brazil and Mexico.

In the United States, pickup trucks are the basic vehicle of Detroit automakers and, combined, they generate millions of units of sales annually. They have also become increasingly important to Toyota in the United States and globally.

“When you consider the importance, from a revenue perspective, that these products bring to manufacturers, it’s about franchising,” said Terry Woychowski, president of automotive at Caresoft Global, who was previously chief engineer for full-size pickup trucks at GM. “There has been a lot of interest in this vehicle because of the market.”

Caresoft, an engineering benchmarking and consulting company, has pulled down and examined approximately 40 Chinese-made electric vehicles from companies such as BYD, child and others.

The Michigan-based company digitally and physically analyzes every part of a vehicle, from bolts and latches to seats, motors and battery cases. It then determines how its customers (mainly automakers and suppliers) can improve efficiency and reduce costs of their products.

“It’s a great product. It’s selling well. They’re trying to sell a lot of it in Mexico, but it’s also localizing in Thailand,” said Ford CEO Jim Farley. when asked by CNBC earlier this month about BYD Shark. “If we want to be a global player in the pickup sector, as we are now, we have to compete.”

While Ford’s F-150 reigns supreme in the United States, Toyota’s Hilux has been the best-selling truck outside of North America for many years. Toyota has sold 19.8 million Hilux vans since its introduction in 1968, including a record 851,000 units in 2022.

When asked about Chinese competitors earlier this month, Toyota President Akio Toyoda said the company “needs to be prepared to respond to the global needs of global markets,” regardless of the competition.

“We try to focus on the needs of each individual market and try to be the best in town. That will be the strategy we have,” Toyoda said. during a roundtable with the media at the CES technology conference.

BYD supposedly exported more than 10,000 BYD Sharks by 2024. Those sales are expected to increase in the future, especially as the company prepares to expand production.

BYD has increased 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 help BYD increase its global sales to about 4.3 million vehicles in 2024, up from about 3 million the previous year. Wall Street analysts expect that number to continue growing this year to about 5.5 million, according to Goldman Sachs.

“BYD is beginning to access the foreign market with attractive products (highly competitive and innovative), which we hope can become a second growth engine for the company, contributing 31% of the incremental vehicle sales volume during the 2022 period. -2030E, Goldman Sachs analyst Tina Hou said in a Jan. 14 investor note.

BYD Shark is expected to help the automaker increase its sales and profits. It is a mid-size pickup truck, which has a smaller market in the United States compared to the rest of the world, with a plug-in hybrid powertrain that combines electric vehicle components such as a battery and electric motors with a small internal combustion engine. 1.5 liters.

The vehicle can operate as an all-electric vehicle or have the motor power its batteries and electric motors, with a combined range of more than 500 miles between the battery and motor, according to BYD.

the shark starts in about 899,980 pesos ($44,000) in Mexico. That’s much more than BYD’s other models, but still much cheaper than many hybrid or all-electric pickup trucks in the U.S. It’s in line with the price of mid-range models of the Ford Ranger and Toyota midsize pickup trucks Tacoma in Mexico.

Taking the BYD Shark for a spin on private property with a mix of smooth and broken pavement in Michigan, the truck handles well. Its acceleration is fast, but not as fast as the tesla cyber truck either GM’s all-electric trucks. It’s quiet, but there’s definitely room for improvements in handling and ride, which feel a little less refined than current trucks in the US.

The Shark’s overall build quality is impressive, but there are quirky elements to the vehicle, as well as some best practices “shared” with current trucks from Ford and GM, according to Woychowski.

Some practical and familiar elements include the overall exterior design being similar to that of the F-150, including lighting and a removable tailgate step; the interior design of the front seat resembles that of Toyota; and certain production aspects of the vehicle that are used in other trucks. Most notably, its frame, the backbone of the vehicle, is bathed in wax. According to Woychowski, that’s a process to reduce corrosion that GM has been doing for decades.

“You can tell where they compared and to whom,” Woychowski said as he inspected the underside of the vehicle. “Ford here, GM there and Toyota there.”

That’s not to say the vehicle isn’t unique. While Caresoft still needs to tear down the Shark to better understand its construction processes and parts, the vehicle’s interior design and, most notably, its hybrid powertrain are unlike anything currently offered in the US.

For example, some of the battery technologies are placed under the rear seats, eliminating storage space, and there are bungee cords to support the vehicle’s rear seat when it is folded.

“This is actually pretty poorly done,” Woychowski said, referring to the back seat. “I’d keep an eye on this space. I bet they fixed it up pretty well.”

Other unusual elements not so easy to spot include an oversized rear suspension with dual control arms (instead of one each); a considerably straight structure; an unnecessary number of jacks under the vehicle to lift it; and using hydraulic arms for the heavy tailgate, he said.

Woychowski said customers have shown particular interest in Chinese automakers, including BYD, because of their growth and speed in developing new products and improvements to existing models.

“It’s a credible truck,” Woychowski said of the Shark. “There are some things they did very well. There are some things they can do to clean it up, but it’s not a difficult job to do.”

—CNBC’s Michael Bloom contributed to this report.