Shark PHEV BYD's Pickup Enters South Africa This Year, Take A Peek At The Specifications

The country that is the marketing goal of BYD Shark. (Doc. BYD Global)

JAKARTA - BYD continues to expand its car model in South Africa this year, in order to strengthen its position in the passenger car market to commercial in the country.

Based on a report from Carnewschina, quoted on Tuesday, January 7, the model to be launched in South Africa is the Plug in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) Shark pickup, based on Chinese media information Bitauto said it launched at the end of this year.

The BYD Shark pickup truck was originally launched on the Mexican market in 2024. Then, this PHEV entered other countries such as Brazil, Cambodia, and Australia and several other countries.

Regarding the specifications, BYD Shark PHEV has a dimensions of 5,457 mm, a width of 1,971 mm, a height of 1,925 mm with a wheelbase of 3,260 mm. This pickup has a towing capacity of 2500 kg.

Comes with the DMO platform, this car is equipped with a 1.5 liter engine with two electric motors. The combined power of this system reaches 320 kW (429 hp) and 650 Nm torque. Shark can go up to 100 km/hour within 5.7 seconds.

The battery embedded in this car is an LFP with a capacity of 29.6 kWh which can provide a distance of 100 km in the NEDC count.

BYD entered South Africa in 2023 with Atto 3 (Yuan Plus) as its launch car. Last year, the Chinese brand introduced Dolphin and Seal electric cars to the market. The current model line consists of three electric models. However, South African customers are claimed to prefer HEV and PHEV over BEV.

So, BYD Shark could be the right answer and the company is likely to launch another PHEB model in South Africa as it becomes more popular.