BYD TO BUILD A PICKUP TRUCK IN MEXICO

By Éric Descarries

Despite the Biden administration’s 100% U.S. tariff on electric vehicles imported from China, leading Chinese automaker BYD (Build Your Dream) has decided to go ahead and produce its first pickup, the Shark, at its as-yet-unannounced plant in Mexico.

Although BYD has not indicated its intention to market the Shark in the U.S. or Canada, it is worth noting that the manufacturer has a plant on Canadian soil, in Newmarket, Ontario, where it already assembles electric buses.

What’s more, the Shark is not an all-electric vehicle, but a true mid-size pickup with a rigid frame chassis on which the body rests. Its engine, a 1.5-liter four-cylinder paired with two electric motors (one front and one rear), develops a total of 430 hp and offers a towing capacity of 2,500 kg. As a plug-in vehicle (PHEV), it can travel 100 km on its 30 kWh battery, or some 850 km using both gas and battery. Its base price in Mexico hovers around CAD 73,000.

You’ve certainly noticed the strange resemblance to the Ford Ranger or the F-150 Raptor. . . Even if BYD has not (yet) indicated its intention to market the Shark in Canada, let’s keep in mind that our country doesn’t have any tariff constraints towards Chinese vehicles, unlike the United States. . .