BYD on the Shark 6 for Aussies: ‘we’re here to aggressively grow…’

Chinese automaker BYD is not playing around with the launch of its hybrid Shark 6 ute in Australia. Recently, the CEO of EVDirect, David Smitherman, had a few tidbits to say about BYD in the Australian market. EVDirect is the Chinese automaker’s importer in Australia. 

“We’re not here for a holiday; we’re here to aggressively grow the market share. We know this segment is a really big segment,” said Smitherman.

The EVDirect CEO talked about BYD’s brand awareness in Australia and the Chinese company’s goals in the market. 

“I’m very passionate about the branding of this vehicle, and you’ll see BYD is very clearly displayed. This is key for our future around brand recognition—these are mobile billboards. 

Aussies are used to particular brands in the ute segment. Aussies are quite loyal and we get that we’re new to Australia, but BYD has been around for 30 years, so we’re not new to the world,” commented Smitherman.

BYD faces similar challenges in Europe. As a relatively new arrival to the European market, BYD is heavily investing in growing its brand awareness. Earlier this year, BDY officially became the e-mobility partner of the Union of European Football Association’s (UEFA) European Football Championship 2024 (EURO 2024) to grow its brand awareness. 

BYD’s market share expansion in Australia starts with its hybrid Shark 6 pickup truck. The Chinese automaker has not yet released the BYD Shark 6’s prices Down Under. However, BYD is expected to aggressively price the Shark 6 under AUD$60,000, undercutting mid-grade 4×4 models from Ford, Toyota, and Isuzu. 

“BYD is vertically and horizontally integrated as well, with well over 70% of the content being made by BYD, so we’ve got massive cost advantages for this particular reason,” explained Smitherman.

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