Not every market has fallen for the BYD Shark 6 like Australia, as the plug is pulled on a launch in Thailand due to a lack of demand.
The manufacturing base of Australia's top-selling utes – including the Ford Ranger, Toyota HiLux and Isuzu D-Max – has shunned the BYD Shark 6 plug-in hybrid into its own demise, a report has claimed.
Plans to launch the Shark 6 in Thailand have been scrapped, according to Thai publication Autolifethailand on social media, after just 153 orders were received out of a planned batch of 500.
It has been attributed to high prices, as the Chinese-made ute attracts a 30-plus per cent import tariff that pushes its RRP to 1,699,900 Thai baht ($AU80,700) – more than a Ford Ranger Wildtrak V6 diesel (1.534 million, or $AU72,800).
If applied in Australia, it would place the BYD at $83,000 before on-road costs – compared to the $57,900 RRP it actually carries.
The Chinese car giant has also reportedly dropped plans to manufacture the Shark 6 locally, in favour of "the production of other pickup truck models," which are yet to be revealed or named.
The Thai publication said in a translated post that the BYD distributor in the country has initiated "the cancellation of all 153 customer reservations, which the customers agreed to, was due to the fact that no reservation fees were collected."
BYD was the second-best-selling new-car brand in Thailand in June 2025 – ahead of Honda and Isuzu, and behind only Toyota – with its Atto 3, Dolphin, Sealion 6 and Sealion 7 all in the Top 20 most popular models.
The brand's factory in Thailand exported its first cars to Europe in recent weeks, a batch of 900 Dolphin hatchbacks.
It has thrived on sharp pricing, the Atto 3 starting at 949,900 baht ($AU45,000) – cheaper than an entry-level, petrol-powered Toyota Corolla Cross.
It means the Shark 6 plug-in hybrid is a more difficult sell, dearer than the Ranger V6, a flagship Toyota HiLux GR Sport (1.499 million baht, or $AU70,900), and a top-of-the-range Isuzu D-Max (937,000 baht, or $AU44,300), all made in Thailand.
The Shark 6's rivals in Australia, the GWM Cannon Alpha PHEV and Ford Ranger PHEV, are not offered in Thailand. The regular Cannon Alpha hybrid is priced from 1.189 to 1.389 million baht ($AU56,200 to $AU65,700).
The ute BYD plans to build and launch in the Thai market in the Shark 6's place is unclear.
BYD Australia has indicated more derivatives of the Shark 6 are on the way – including a cab-chassis and higher-performance model – alongside a larger, full-size pick-up.
The opposite of the Shark 6's failure to crack into the Thai market is true in Australia. Over the first seven months of 2025, close to 12,000 examples have been reported as sold, including a record 2993 in June alone.
Alex Misoyannis has been writing about cars since 2017, when he started his own website, Redline. He contributed for Drive in 2018, before joining CarAdvice in 2019, becoming a regular contributing journalist within the news team in 2020. Cars have played a central role throughout Alex’s life, from flicking through car magazines at a young age, to growing up around performance vehicles in a car-loving family. Highly Commended - Young Writer of the Year 2024 (Under 30) Rising Star Journalist, 2024 Winner Scoop of The Year - 2024 Winner
