BYD Shark 6 off-road and towing upgrade coming, likely with Denza B5 locking differentials

BYD’s most senior executive within the Asia-Pacific voice has in point of fact helpful Chasing Vehicles that the tag will reply to customers in search of elevated off-roading capability from the Shark 6 poke-in hybrid (PHEV) ute.

Talking with this masthead first and important of the Atto 2 itsy-bitsy SUV, Liu Xueling, BYD Asia-Pacific automotive total supervisor, talked about the tag has deliberate improvements to the Shark 6 within the product pipeline.

“All of us know that customers win some complaints about the [Shark 6] product, but we can absolutely preserve on bettering and [will respond] to the purchasers,” Liu talked about, through interpreter.

As a PHEV ute, the BYD Shark 6 depends on its twin electric motors for electrified all-wheel pressure rather than used mechanical four-wheel pressure. While electric AWD affords the Shark 6 technically proper motor preserve watch over, the electronic structure has got criticism.

Currently lacking locking entrance and rear differentials, the Shark 6 depends on traction preserve watch over to brake spinning wheels below load, equivalent to while hiking slippery trails. As is same old for electric AWD, there is never always a low vary, either simulated or steady.

Concerns had been raised regarding restricted articulation, as well as the Shark 6’s moderately restricted 2500kg braked towing ability.

BYD Australia has already acknowledged that this would possibly perchance perchance simply replace the Shark 6 with industry-same old 3500kg braked towing capability within the arriving months.

However, Chasing Vehicles understands that superior off-roading expertise developed for BYD’s luxury tag, Denza — and particularly for the Denza B5 4 wheel pressure which shares a platform with the BYD Shark 6 — can also simply soon trickle the total method down to the ute.

The Denza B5, which involves Australia subsequent week, beneficial properties entrance and rear locking diffs, a simulated low-vary gearbox for crawling, adjustable suspension for additional floor clearance, and even more vitality and torque (425kW/760Nm vs 321kW/650Nm) for more performance.

We requested BYD Asia-Pacific boss Liu Xueliang whether or no longer the Denza B5’s new off-toll road parts would be transferred to the Shark 6 in 2026.

“It is appropriate that we would perchance be migrating your total winning technologies to every of our fashions,” Liu answered.

“In conjunction with your total feedback [having been received], we are positively assured [that we will] win our product higher and higher. That you would possibly perchance perchance squawk that the Shark 6 isn’t any longer the tip of our pick-up sequence — it’s handiest the originate,” he talked about.

BYD Australia chief product officer Sajid Hasan shed moderately of more light regarding future updates for Shark 6.

“We’ve got an replace to Shark 6 deliberate for 2026. We are in a position to’t squawk when but that will seemingly be, but 3.5 tonne towing ability is in point of fact appropriate one of many updates. We’ve got a pair of rather a pair of issues as well deliberate for that model,” he talked about.

The poke-in Shark has been the important success yarn of the ute segment in Australia in 2025 and a standout in a segment that has barely grown this year (up 3.5 percent).

BYD has delivered 15,181 examples of the Shark 6 to this level in 2025, seizing a for dash intensive 8.5 percent market part. Within the identical duration, volume has fallen for both the Ford Ranger (down 10.4 percent) and Toyota HiLux (down 5.1 percent).

Meanwhile, Chinese language tag GWM has delivered 2053 gadgets of its win PHEV ute — the Cannon Alpha.