The BYD Shark looks ready to take on the Ford F-150. The pickup truck showed its face in Mexico City ahead of its official unveiling, which is scheduled to take place this week at the Beijing Auto Show. BYD is planning to go global with its first pickup truck.
The first-ever BYD pickup truck has just had its name confirmed through a teaser that shows the front end of the model with the lights on and the "Shark" lettering. Using Latin letters instead of Chinese characters is a confirmation that BYD wants to deliver it overseas.
Shark has recently been spotted driving in Mexico City with no camouflage whatsoever, less than three weeks after the giant auto group showed it wearing the orange and blue pattern to mask its design during the development stages.
What is striking about the looks of the Shark is that its front end mimics that of the Ford F-150 Lightning. It comes with huge healights, linked via a full-width LED strip, a layout that is mirrored at the rear end, with the rectangular, vertically positioned taillights being connected by an LED strip as well.
The massive "BYD" lettering takes up the entire front grille. An aluminum skid plate at the front and plenty of plastic cladding credit it with a rugged appearance.
The model is 214.8 inches (5,457 millimeters) long, 77.6 inches (1,971 inches) wide, sporting a wheelbase of 128.3 inches (3,260 millimeters). That makes it way larger than the Ford Ranger, which sits at 210.6 inches (5,350 millimeters), with a wheelbase of 128.7 (3,269 millimeters).
Photo: BYD
However, it is way smaller than the Ford F-150, which is 231.7 inches (5,884 millimeters) long and features a wheelbase of 145.4 inches (3,694 millimeters). So, what the Chinese call a mid-size pickup truck would probably slot between segments in the United States.
The model will be powered by a plug-in hybrid system, which will integrate a 1.5-liter turbocharged engine and an electric motor for a total of 480 horsepower (487 metric horsepower) in an all-wheel drive setup.
As for the cabin, BYD should install a floating digital instrument cluster and a rotatable central touchscreen for a high-tech ambiance on board.
A lithium-iron-phosphate BYD Blade battery pack will store enough energy for an electric range of up to 62 miles (100 kilometers). The total range should be somewhere around 620 miles (1,000 kilometers).
According to the Chinese media, the mid-size pickup truck will be unveiled in China this week. That is when we will find out the missing details. BYD is planning to go global with the Shark. We have yet to see how far it will make it. If it sets wheels in the United States, the Ford F-150 will surely get a run for its money!
EXCLUSIVA
Así se ve la primer pick-up de #BYD en el territorio mexicano…. ¿Qué opinan de su diseño?
Google News