Australian customers of the new Performance version of BYD’s popular Shark 6 plug-in hybrid (PHEV) ute are taking delivery of their vehicles without the full package fitted, after several hundred examples of the high-output dual-cab arrived in Australia missing part of their underbody protection.
The Shark 6 Performance was announced in April as the new flagship of the Shark 6 lineup, featuring a larger 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine as part of a more powerful 350kW/700Nm hybrid system.
Significantly, apart from extra performance, it matches the 3500kg braked towing capacity that has become the benchmark in the dual-cab 4×4 ute class led by the Ford Ranger and Toyota HiLux.
However, an error in the Chinese automaker’s build process saw initial Shark 6 Performance vehicles arrive in Australia without a section of underbody protection fitted to this grade but not other variants of the popular hybrid ute.
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“It’s not a safety issue and, as soon as we spotted it, we gave customers the choice to wait until the part arrives in July or take delivery of their vehicle now and have it fitted at the first service,” a spokesperson for BYD Australia told CarExpert.
“It doesn’t affect performance and is there to provide additional protection for the underbody if customers choose to take their vehicle off-road. However, we’ve conducted plenty of off-road activities with media and customers in standard Shark 6 models without it.”
The initial batch of Shark 6 Performance vehicles included many transported aboard the BYD Zhengzhou, the first of the automaker’s own car-carrying ships to dock in Australia when it arrived in Melbourne earlier this month.
The shipment also included examples of the other recent addition to the Shark 6 lineup, the entry-level Shark 6 Dynamic, which features a cab-chassis body style and the same 321kW/650Nm plug-in hybrid powertrain as the pre-existing Shark 6 Premium, comprising a 1.5-litre turbo-petrol engine and dual electric motors.
The Shark 6 was BYD’s best-selling model in Australia in 2025 and remains its second most popular vehicle so far in 2026, behind only the Sealion 7 mid-size electric SUV.
Both models have helped BYD post significant sales growth, with the brand finishing second only to Toyota on the Australian sales charts in both April and May 2026.