A predator that circles the worldwide truck market is from BYD Hai pickup produced in China

Byd Shark Plug-in Hybrid Electric Pickup

Michael Wayland / CNBC

Detroit – There is a shark that circles one of the largest profit baths for American car manufacturers worldwide as a Chinese car manufacturer Car Extends its range and the product portfolio with a pickup.

Without the branding badge of the vehicle, the BYD shark could pass as an American product. In many ways it looks like a smaller collection of Ford engine. The truck produced in China has uncanny similarities with a Ford Explorer, mixed with the popular F-15 part of the best-selling truck truck list of the Ford brand in the USA for 48 years.

Similar to BYDS Möwa-a small purely electric assembly line, which is only 69,800 Yuan (or less than 10,000 US to the detriment of your own auto industry.

BYD has not announced any plans to sell the shark in the United States, but it has entered countries in which General MotorsFord and Toyota engine Sell ​​pickup trucks, including Australia, Brazil and Mexico.

In the United States, pickup trucks are the bread and butter vehicles for car manufacturers in Detroit and combine millions of sales units every year. They have also become more and more important for Toyota in the USA and worldwide.

Byd Shark Plug-in Hybrid Electric Pickup

Michael Wayland / CNBC

“If you look at the importance from the perspective of the income that these products bring to manufacturers, it is the franchise,” said Terry Woychowski, President of Automotive at Caresoft Global, who was formerly chief engineer of GMS full-size trucks. “Due to the market, it is very interested in this vehicle.”

Caresoft, a technical benchmarking and consulting company, has demolished and examined around 40 electric vehicles from BYD built in China. Nio and other.

The company based in Michigan analyzes every part of a vehicle, from screws and bars to sitting, engines and battery houses. Then it is determined how its customers – mainly car manufacturers and suppliers – improve efficiency and reduce costs in their products.

Draw attention

Car manufacturers such as Ford and Toyota, which rely on the sale of smaller pickup trucks worldwide, have taken note of the BYD -HAI.

“It's a great product. It is well sold. You try to sell in a high volume in Mexico, but it is also localized in Thailand,” said Ford CEO Jim Farley when he was CNBC after the BYD -HAI was asked. “If we want to be a global player in pickups like now, we have to compete.”

2024 Ford Ranger XLT Sport

ford

While Fords F-150 is the top in the USA, Toyotas Hilux has been the best-selling truck outside of North America for many years. Toyota has sold 19.8 million Hilux trucks since its introduction in 1968, including a record of 851,000 units in 2022.

When asked about Chinese competitors at the beginning of this month, the Toyota chairman Akio Toyoda said that the company must be “ready to react to the global needs of global markets” regardless of the competition.

“We are trying to concentrate on the needs of each market and best to be in the city. So that will be the strategy we have,” Toyoda said during a media circuit at the CES Tech conference.

According to reports, BYD exported more than 10,000 BYD sharks in 2024. Such sales are expected to increase in the future, especially if the company is preparing for the expansion of production.

BYD has expanded its share of 2% or less than 56,000 units from China in 2022 to 8% in 2024 or 350,500 units, says Bofa Securities.

The export continued to support around 4.3 million vehicles in 2024 in increasing sales worldwide, compared to around 3 million in the previous year. According to Goldman Sachs, analysts from Wall Street expect this year that will continue to grow this year.

Byd Shark Plug-in Hybrid Electric Pickup

Michael Wayland / CNBC

“BYD begins to use with convincing (strongly competitive, innovative) products in overseas, of which we expect it to become a second growth driver for the company, which bears 31% for incremental sales volume over 2022-2030e, Goldman Sachs Analyst Tina Hou said in an investor note on January 14th.

The BYD shark will help the car manufacturer increase its sales and profits. It is a medium-sized pickup that has a smaller market worldwide, with a plug-in hybrid drive train that combines electric vehicle components such as battery and electric motors with a small 1.5-liter burning engine.

The vehicle can be operated as a purely electric vehicle or operate the motor batteries and electric motors with a range of more than 500 combined miles between the battery and the engine.

The shark begins in Mexico at around 899,980 pesos ($ 44,000). This is much more than the other BYD models, but still much cheaper than many hybrids or purely electric trucks in the USA. It corresponds to the pricing of SCHOMRANGE models of the Ford Ranger and Toyota Tacoma medium-sized pickup truck in Mexico.

Benchmarking Ford, GM

Take the BYD HAI for a turn to private property with a mixture of smooth and broken sidewalk in Michigan and drives well. His acceleration is fast, but not as fast as that Tesla Cybertruck or GMS all -electric pickups. It is quiet, but there is definitely space for improvements in driving and handling, which feel a little less sophisticated than current trucks in the USA

The overall processing quality of the shark is impressive, but according to Woychowski there are bizarre elements of the vehicle and some “common” best practice with current pickups from Ford and GM.

The F-150 flash at the New York International Auto Show exhibited on March 28, 2024.

Danielle Devries | CNBC

Some well-known practices and elements include the general external design similar to the F-150, including its lighting and an extract rear valve. The interior design in front that resembles Toyota; And certain production aspects of the vehicle used by other trucks. Above all, his frame – the backbone of the vehicle – is dipped in wax. This is a process to reduce corrosion that GM has been carrying out for decades, says Woychowski.

“You can see where you benchmarking and whom,” said Woychowski while inspecting the underbody of the vehicle. “Ford back here, GM under there and Toyota over there.”

This does not mean that the vehicle is not unique. While Caresoft still has to tear down the shark to better understand its construction processes and parts, the interior design of the vehicle and, above all, its hybrid drive train is different from anything that is currently being offered in the USA

Terry Woychowski, President of Automotive at the engineering advice company Caresoft Global, in the large facility “Reindown- und Benchmarking” of the company in Livonia, Michigan.

Caresoft Global

For example, some of the battery technologies are placed under the rear seats, making the storage space decides, and there are bungee cables to keep the rear bank seat of the vehicle when it is folded.

“It's actually pretty bad,” said Woychowski about the back seat. “I would see this room. I bet you repair it pretty well.”

Others not so simple, to recognize unusual elements, include a covered rear wheel suspension with double control arms (instead of one each); a much straight frame; An unnecessary amount of sockets lifts under the vehicle to raise; And using hydraulic arms for the heavy tailgate, he said.

Woychowski said that because of their growth and speed in developing new products and improving the existing models, a particular interest in Chinese car manufacturers, including BYD, were interested.

“It's a credible truck,” said Woychowski about the shark. “There are some things that you did very well. There are some things you can do to clean it up, but that's not a difficult task.”

– Michael Bloom from CNBC contributed to this report.