Sub-R1m BYD Shark becomes South Africa’s most powerful bakkie

After much pre-launch hype, the BYD Shark double cab debuted on Thursday with one clear goal in mind; upsetting the local bakkie applecart.

Chinese carmaker BYD, which stands for Build Your Dreams, is the world’s biggest producer of new energy vehicles. It has shown immense growth over the last few years, becoming the first manufacturer to produce 10 million new energy vehicles.

By offering the most powerful bakkie in South Africa with a host of firsts for the segment at under R1 million – R959 900 to be exact – the ambitious carmaker is confident of making inroads in the cutthroat bakkie space.

BYD Shark makes history

The BYD Shark is the first plug-in hybrid bakkie in Mzansi. It features what the manufacturer calls a Dual Mode Offroad powertrain. This is a combination of a 1.5 litre turbocharged petrol engine producing 170kW of power and 310Nm of torque and 29.5kWh battery hooked up to a 150kW/340Nm electric motor.

The result is an eye-watering total of 320kW of power and 650Nm of torque. This is 28kW/67Nm more than the previous most powerful bakkie offered locally, the Ford Ranger Raptor.

With a claimed 0 to 100km/h sprint time of 5.7 seconds, the BYD Shark is set to dethrone the Raptor as the fastest bakkie in South Africa. The Ford Ranger Raptor’s 6.9 second sprint record tops The Citizen Motoring’s bakkie timesheets by some margin.

But besides gunning for the same sprint record, comparing the Shark and Raptor is not really comparing apples with apples. The Raptor is a high-performance four-wheel drive off-road bakkie with a low transfer case with rear diff-lock and bespoke suspension. This enables the Raptor’s thrilling Baja driving mode for high-performance off-road adventures.

All-wheel drive

The BYD Shark does not have a low transfer case or diff-lock. It has double wishbone independent suspension in the front and rear, with all-wheel drive (AWD) dual electric motor at the rear. The AWD offers a choice of four terrain modes; Sand, Mud, Snow and Mount.

The electric hybrid system offers four driving modes; EV, hybrid series, hybrid parallel and engine direct. EV mode uses only battery power and engine direct only the turbo mill. Hybrid parallel sees the electric motor and engine working together, while hybrid series ensures the battery is charged from the engine.

The Shark features BYD’s Blade battery pack fitted underneath the cabin. The battery pack is more efficient than standard lithium batteries as well as safer as it burns at a much lower temperature when pierced.

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Raising the bakkie bar

BYD claims the Shark will sip 9.6 litres of fuel per 100km and has a pure electric range of 85km. It can carry a payload of 790kg and supports braked towing of up to 2 500kg.

Inside, the Shark features very plush sedan-like finishes. It features a bakkie-first heads-up display, heated/ventilated front sports seats. a rotatable 15.6 inch infotainment system and rear seats at a 27 degree angle.

It comes standard with roll bar and tow bar, and also a bakkie-first electric lowering tailgate.

Included in the price is a five year/100 000km maintenance plan and eight year/200 000km battery warranty. It also comes with 7kW wall box charger, 2.2kW portable charger and V2L socket.