BYD Shark 6 owners give their unfiltered opinions on how they're getting on with Australia's favourite new ute

03/23/2025 03:00 PM

The BYD Shark 6, Australia’s first plug-in hybrid (PHEV) ute, has had a blistering start to its sales.

RELATED: Why Aussies are flocking to the BYD Shark 6 in droves

The first BYD Shark 6 – an all-new model never previously sold in Australia – arrived in local showrooms in mid-January 2025, with February VFACTS sales data showing that 2026 examples have already been delivered.

This slots it into third place in the ute category behind the long-standing best-sellers, the Ford Ranger and Toyota HiLux.

Given that it has had a lot of cut-through in the market already, we reached out to some owners to find out how they’re enjoying the new BYD Shark 6.

Ben Ouston – Newcastle, New South Wales

Ben: “[My BYD Shark 6] replaced a Mitsubishi Lancer. I was looking for something a bit bigger than my Lancer and liked the idea of a ute, but I also wanted to capitalise on the FBT exemption for a PHEV and I wasn’t fully ready to commit to a full EV. The Shark fulfilled all these requirements.

A big reason I went with a PHEV was to get the FBT exemption – it made the option a lot more affordable and appealing, and I was lucky enough to get in before the cut-off date.

The technology in the car has exceeded my expectations. The way to easily change different driving modes, see the status of the car, and cameras everywhere to assist with parking this big car in the tightest of spaces have made it super easy.

It feels like I’m driving in the future compared to anything else I have been in. I also took it down to the beach, completely stock – no modifications or accessories – and it just felt like it was in its natural habitat. Completely exceeded all my expectations of it.

It has certainly been a conversation starter everywhere I go, car parks, drive-thrus, online, people are stopping me and wanting to have a chat about it and get a look and opinion of it.

I was even pulled over by a Highway Patrol officer last night who admitted he pulled me over because “he wanted to check out the car”, as he was thinking of getting one and proceeded to chat to me about my experiences with it.

[I’d change a few things]  – the ‘Driver Monitoring System’ seems to go off at random times, constantly telling you off for yawning or talking. You have to manually turn it off every time you get in the car, which is really annoying.

The automatic lane detection works great in a straight line with clear lines and no shadows, but as soon as there is any variation in the lane lines, lighting or even on some turns, it gets super confused and unreliable – leading me to turn it off completely.

The only other complaint [I have is with] the wireless phone charger, it seems to be pretty slow at charging my phone and really heats my phone temperature rapidly. I think it’s a combination of the charger and its location – it sits directly in the sun a lot of the time contributing to heating up my phone.

Other than that, in terms of comfort, drivability, convenience and versatility, the Shark has been amazing and well and truly exceeded my expectations.”

Mick Wieden – Cairns, Queensland

Mick: “Initially, I waited to upgrade my daily driver work vehicle in 2024 to the Kia Tasman that was yet to be released. I thought it would be like the concept pics floating around, but like most, I was instantly turned off by the design.

[The Shark 6] replaced my 2021 Toyota HiLux SR5. I was happy to embrace newer technology but was not convinced to go full EV for my work ute, so the BYD launched at the right time and the right price, beating the GWM and Ford to market.

My car will be used daily for my business, wrapped in signage with a canopy (when the canopy finally arrives), so yes, there are also tax benefits for me, like any business vehicle purchase, but not like the buyers trying to beat the FBT exemption deadline.

The technological advancement leap from owning multiple HiLuxes over the years is like night and day.  So far, the running costs for my situation have been exceptionally low as we have excess solar at home, which has been used to top up the battery when it is garaged, so the fuel usage has been about a quarter of what I was using for a daily driver over the HiLux it replaced.

I get stopped almost daily by people asking questions because I work around other tradies on building sites and frequent places like the trade section of Bunnings, etc. Most of them are generally interested in the vehicle because it is new. Still, some have researched it and have pensively held off waiting for the initial owners to ‘road-test’ it in real life before deciding.

My vehicle looks particularly unique from the stock standard, with the aftermarket rims and tyres, so it attracts attention as well for the wheels and how good they look.

My experience is likely unique, but the vehicle so far is excellent, easily the best new car I have ever owned (out of 16 in my lifetime, both work and personal).

However, my experience with BYD was that they were not able to provide a genuine delivery timeframe for any of the accessories we paid for in advance of ordering the car – such as the canopy, roof rack and bull bar.

I have now cancelled all the above accessories, and I am currently waiting on refunds so I can buy them from aftermarket importers after multiple calls to EVDirect.

It’s disappointing as it is time-wasting for business buyers who just want a vehicle they purchased to be ready to go to work the day they take delivery. And, more often than not, people know they are paying a hefty premium for that luxury over spending the time to source everything afterwards.

I guess we aren’t the target market, though. That is probably not an issue for the weekend-warrior segment of buyers who usually like to spend the time doing it all themselves, so it is specific to my situation.

From what I’ve seen on Facebook, the dealers and delivery centres aren’t the best to deal with.

In my experience, the Cairns delivery centre doesn’t return calls or doesn’t answer emails with questions about delivery time frames or accessories. And the sales staff don’t seem to be incentivised to sell a car that is ordered directly online.

If you visit the showroom, they refer you to call BYD directly once they know you are waiting on an [online] order, as they claim they are not given information from EVDirect until the vehicle is almost on their doorstep.

This might be a dealer-specific issue, of course, but it might be something BYD should address.”

Ryan Drury – Sydney, New South Wales

Ryan: “I’ve always wanted to own an EV or hybrid, steering away from ICE. When I first saw the released footage of the BYD Shark 6 last year, I knew I wanted it. It has all the perks of an EV, for work and, in the future, as a family car.

I didn’t want a soccer mum car or a little two-door thing. I needed something I could still use for work, do a tip run with, and help my family and mates move. I had to have something that can still be a workhorse.

The company I work for offers a salary-sacrifice package, which I’m using to pay for it and replacing my 2015 4×2 Isuzu D-Max.

I love how quiet the Shark 6 is; the acceleration is mind-blowing for a ute of this size.

I’ve had so many people stop and ask questions about it, whether I’m parked up at home or out and about. It’s definitely a statement, and I hope that these utes maintain the sales. The more the merrier! Fewer emissions are being pumped out.

To be honest, I don’t think I’d change anything; we will see what future software updates bring us. But if I’m nit-picking, I love the deep blue, but a green option would have been awesome.”

Drive has contacted EVDirect for comment and will update this story once a response is received.

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