I exchanged my gastruck for a Chinese hybrid. The byd shark is great to drive, but one thing worries me.

• Wayne Dopson runs a renovation company in Brisbane, Australia, and bought a BYD Shark Hybrid Pick -up in March.

• He said it is great to drive compared to his old gastruck, but fears that it can be outdated in a few years.

• Chinese EV makers are rapidly expanding in tariff-free Australia, which means that Tesla is under pressure.

This share-to-essay is based on a conversation with Wayne Dopson, a project manager in Brisbane, Australia about owning a BYD Shark Hybrid pick-up. It is processed for length and clarity.

I have always been to the real estate market, turned houses and done renovations. I have a small renovation company, work on kitchens, bathrooms and decks for customers in Brisbane, which I have been doing for about 12 years now.

I bought a VW Amarok Diesel-driven pick-up in 2015. I wanted to upgrade for a while, but nothing came with it that my interest was interested.

Other combustion engine trucks such as the Ford Ranger all looked very much like the Amarok. I would have had almost the same car with only a larger screen, so I waited for something a little different.

I bought the BYD Shark Hybrid Pick -up in March for 64,000 Australian dollars, around $ 41,000.

Ford and Toyota charge ridiculous prices for their Pick -Up Trucks of Utes in Australia. You look at a maximum of 80,000 dollars for something that is inferior to me that Biyd charges 60,000.

I only did 2,000 kilometers in the shark, so I still learn the car, but so far I love driving.

The technology, the power and slippery – it feels for decades ahead of the Amarok.

Luxury and power cheap

The level of luxury inside is incredible for the money. I have Audis and BMW's ownership and it feels just as good, just as solid and well built as a premium car. It also does 0 to 100 km/h in 5.7 seconds, so it drives like a sports car.

I mainly use it for work and leisure, and there are a number of advantages to use it for work.

It only costs me cent to make it run every day. I have 30 solar panels on my roof, so my electricity during the day is free.

I pay eight cents per kilowatt hour from 12 to 6 hours, which is enough time to charge the car – it takes between three and four hours to charge.

If I set the car at midnight, it will be done at around 4 hours and generally costs less than two Australian dollars or $ 1.03. I would use $ 13 or 14 ($ 8-9) in diesel per day in the VW Amarok, so there is relatively very cheap to run.

The other advantage is that you have powerful outputs at the back of the truck that offer approximately six kilowatts of electricity, which you can use on site to electric tools.

It has a very large tray with a few small tricks in the sleeve. You can open your tailgate with a quick pressure on the key, which is handy when you fill your hands.

Reach is no problem

The shark is what they call a honor or extended range electric vehicle. It has two electric motors, on the front and back, and it also has a 1.5-liter petrol turbo engine that acts as a generator.

The gasoline engine means that range is not really something for me.

In general I do less than 100 kilometers a day, which will be done in electric mode, but if I want to go to the beach or continue on the coast, I have the gasoline engine there.

That just starts and charges the battery and I am ready to go for about 800 kilometers.

The only thing that would take care of me on the line is the resale value. I have already seen that new vehicles come from Nissan, Ford and Great Wall.

The technology is currently going like crazy, so my shark can be quite outdated in five years.

It has a six -year guarantee and I intend to keep it for the warranty period. What it becomes worth at the end is the gamble.

Byd lays roots in Australia

I think more Chinese EV -brands in Australia are great. We get longer warranty periods and cars of better quality.

Utes are a very important part of Australian culture. One of the problems with which the BYD shark is confronted is that it does not have the same off-road login data as a vehicle with a diff-slot-a ash mechanism that you need to crawl over rocks and rough terrain.

It is fine on the sand and in the mud, but when it comes to really serious off-road, where you crawl hills with traces and boulders, it will struggle.

But for me, however, the shark is great. It is a pleasure to drive, and it is nice to drive around, knowing that it does not cost me and the planet does not cost.

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