The Chinese-made BYD Shark pickup truck is a predator that is circling the global truck market

DETROIT – A shark is circling one of the biggest profit pools for American automakers around the world, as a Chinese automaker AUTOMIR expands its reach and product portfolio with the pickup truck.

Without the car’s signature badge, the BYD Shark can be considered an American-made product. In many ways it looks like a smaller pickup from Ford motor. The Chinese-built truck bears a striking exterior resemblance to the Ford Explorer mixed with the popular F-150, part of Ford’s best-selling truck lineup in the US for 48 years.

Very similar Seagull from BYD — a small all-electric hatchback that starts at just 69,800 yuan (or less than $10,000) — that global automakers fear Chinese rivals love Warren BuffettA supported BYD could flood their markets by lowering car production and prices to the detriment of their own auto industry.

BYD has not announced plans to sell the Shark in the US, but it has entered countries where it does General Motors CompanyFord and Toyota motor sell pickups including Australia, Brazil and Mexico.

In the US, pickups are the bread and butter of Detroit automakers, with millions of units sold each year. They are also increasingly important to Toyota in the US and around the world.

“If you consider the importance, in terms of the profit that these products bring to the manufacturer, it’s a franchise,” said Terry Wojchowsky, president of Caresoft Global’s automotive division, who was previously GM’s chief engineer for full-size trucks. “There was a lot of interest in this car because of the market.”

Caresoft, a benchmarking and consulting company, has disassembled and studied about 40 Chinese electric vehicles such as BYD, Nio and others.

The Michigan-based company digitally and physically analyzes every part of the vehicle, from bolts and latches to seats, engines and battery casings. It then determines how its customers – mainly automakers and suppliers – can improve efficiency and reduce costs for their products.

“It’s a great product. It’s selling well. They’re trying to sell big in Mexico, but it’s also being localized in Thailand,” Ford CEO Jim Farley said. when asked by CNBC earlier this month about the BYD Shark. “If we want to be the global player in pickup trucks that we are now, we have to compete.”

While Ford’s F-150 reigns supreme in the U.S., Toyota’s Hilux has been the best-selling truck outside of North America for years. Toyota has sold 19.8 million Hilux trucks since their introduction in 1968, including a record 851,000 units in 2022.

Asked about Chinese rivals earlier this month, Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda said the company “needs to be ready to respond to the global needs of the world’s markets,” regardless of competition.

“We try to focus on the needs of each individual market and try to be the best in town. So, that will be our strategy,” Toyoda said. during a media roundtable at the CES technical conference.

BYD reportedly exported more than more than 10,000 BYD Shark in 2024. Such sales are expected to increase in the future, especially as the company prepares to expand production.

BYD has increased its share of China’s auto exports from 2%, or less than 56,000 units, in 2022 to 8% in 2024, or 350,500 units, according to BofA Securities.

Exports continued to help BYD boost global sales to about 4.3 million vehicles in 2024, up from about 3 million a year earlier. According to Goldman Sachs, Wall Street analysts expect that number to grow to about 5.5 million this year.

“BYD is starting to enter overseas markets with compelling (highly competitive, innovative) products, which we expect could become the second growth factor for the company, contributing 31% of additional vehicle sales in 2022-2030,” said Tina , a Goldman Sachs analyst. Howe said in a Jan. 14 note to investors.

The BYD Shark is expected to help the automaker boost sales and profits. It’s a midsize pickup truck with a smaller U.S. market than the rest of the world with a plug-in hybrid powertrain that combines electric vehicle components like a battery and electric motors with a small 1.5-liter internal combustion engine.

The vehicle can operate as an all-electric vehicle or have an engine powered by batteries and electric motors, with a total range of more than 500 miles between battery and motor, according to BYD.

Shark begins in around 899,980 pesos ($44,000) in Mexico. That’s a lot more than other BYD models, but still a lot cheaper than many hybrid or all-electric trucks in the US. That’s in line with prices for mid-range models of the Ford Ranger and Toyota Tacoma pickups in Mexico.

After driving the BYD Shark on a private lot with smooth and bumpy pavement in Michigan, the pickup drives well. Its acceleration is fast, but not as fast as the y Tesla Cyber ​​truck or All-electric GM pickups. It’s quiet, but there’s definitely room for improvement in the ride and handling, which feel a little less refined than current U.S. trucks

The Shark’s overall build quality is impressive, but there are quirks to the vehicle as well as some “shared” best practices with current Ford and GM pickups, according to Weichowski.

Some familiar practices and elements include an overall F-150-like exterior design, including lighting and a retractable tailgate step; the design of the interior of the front seat is reminiscent of Toyota; and some manufacturing aspects of the vehicle used from other trucks. It is especially characteristic that its frame – the basis of the car – is dipped in wax. It’s a corrosion reduction process that GM has been working on for decades, according to Weichowski.

“You can tell where and who they were measuring,” Wajchowski said, inspecting the bottom of the car. “Ford is behind, GM is at the bottom and Toyota is there.”

This does not mean that the car is not unique. While Caresoft still needs to take apart the Shark to better understand the build processes and details, the car’s interior design and especially its hybrid powertrain are different from anything currently offered in the U.S.

For example, some battery technology is located under the rear seats, eliminating storage space, and there are bungee cords that hold the rear seat when folded.

“It’s actually done very poorly,” Wajhowsky said of the back seat. “I’d be watching this space. I bet they fixed things up nicely.”

Other unusual elements that are not so easily noticed include a sophisticated rear suspension with dual control arms (instead of one on each); significantly straight frame; unnecessary number of jacks under the vehicle for its lifting; and using hydraulic arms for the heavy tailgate, he said.

Weichowski said customers have shown particular interest in Chinese automakers, including BYD, because of their growth and speed in developing new products and improving existing models.

“It’s a reliable truck,” Wajchowski said of the Shark. “There are some things they’ve done very well. There are some things they can do to clean it up, but it’s not a difficult job.”

— CNBC’s Michael Bloom contributed to this report.