BYD launched its sixth model in Brazil this year, betting that its hybrid pickup can take on brands like Toyota Motor, Ford in the Chinese automaker’s latest move to dominate the world.
The 436-horsepower Shark hybrid pickup truck was made available for pre-booking earlier this month at a price of R$379,800 (US$66,700), entering Brazil’s highly competitive midsize pickup truck segment, where traditionalist customers prefer small trucks powered by diesel or gasoline.
Shark’s launch event on Saturday in Goiânia, Brazil’s agribusiness capital, was BYD’s latest commercial offensive aimed at clawing its way to the top of the vehicle sales rankings in the company’s biggest market outside its home base, China. With the company facing increasing barriers in the US and European Union in the form of import tariffs, expanding in Brazil is a key part of BYD’s strategy to build dominant positions in emerging markets.
BYD announced partnerships with companies such as JBS and Vale to test Shark in extreme conditions and achieve around 70% of sales from agribusiness customers, according to the company’s commercial director in Brazil, Henrique Antunes.
“The potential market for pickup trucks within agriculture is very large,” he said. “We did some studies where often, even a customer who is not from agriculture, looks to agriculture to buy a truck.”
Since pre-sales began on Oct. 3, customers have reserved about 1,000 of the 1,500 pickup trucks made available, according to Antunes, a sharp increase from the company’s previous launch, the Yuan Pro electric sport utility vehicle, which sold 600 units before launch. Customers who reserve a Shark are also guaranteed a solar charging kit, a 3.5 kWh portable charger and full insurance for one year free.
Antunes expects Shark’s annual sales to be between 10,000 and 15,000 units, which would place it among the five best-selling midsize pickup trucks in Brazil. The current sales leaders in the segment are the Toyota Hilux, the Ford Ranger and the Chevrolet S10, with prices starting at around R$220,000, according to data from Fenabrave.
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BYD accumulates 51,203 units sold in Brazil in the first nine months of 2024, a growth of more than 700% compared to the same period last year, when it began its commercial offensive in the country. Shark’s mission is to bring an additional portion of customers to the Chinese brand, which aims to move from the current 10th place in the general sales ranking to be among the top 5 in 2027, said Antunes. “BYD did not arrive in Brazil to be a supporting player.”
This ambition echoes the company’s global plans. BYD has gone from being a small player in China’s crowded car market to entering the world’s top 10 automakers and, by the end of 2023, overtaking Tesla Inc. to become the biggest seller of pure electric vehicles globally.
Launching a hybrid pickup truck with a premium price compared to its rivals, and significantly above the US$53,400 that the same vehicle costs in Mexico, represents something of a gamble. Still, the opportunities outweigh the risks, according to Cassio Pagliarini, automotive sector expert and partner at Bright Consulting. He believes that some of his agribusiness customers are “early adopters”, eager for new technologies and willing to take the first step, even in a market that normally prefers diesel engines.
“It’s a traditional customer, but it’s something new, it’s the first hybrid pickup, with phenomenal autonomy, and has a sustainable footprint,” said Pagliarini. “Just like a special vehicle from all these other brands, the word sustainability already wins people over, the driver does not lose the ability to accelerate, the ability to go through the mud”.
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BYD did everything to make a good impression in Brazil in 2024, launching six new vehicles, including the Shark. The sales offensive has already shaken the commercial strategies of its competitors and caused price reductions in both purely electric and combustion models.
Brazil is also a key part of BYD’s ambitious plans to expand production globally, having recently announced plans for assembly plants outside of China in 10 countries across three continents. The company announced plans to invest R$5.5 billion (US$1.1 billion) in Latin America’s largest economy to build a factory in Bahia, where a Ford factory operated until 2021.
“We hope to begin the vehicle assembly regime in December 2024 and the full production regime in the first half of 2025, not SKD or CKD, the full production regime, including stamping of parts”, said Alexandre Baldy, vice president senior at the company in Brazil, in an interview on Saturday.
