BYD to launch 1st new energy pickup truck for global market within this year

BYD will launch its first new energy pickup truck model within this year, developed specifically for the global market, CnEVPost has learned.

BYD (HKG: 1211, OTCMKTS: BYDDY) will launch its first new energy pickup truck model within this year, developed specifically for the global market, CnEVPost has learned.

The pickup is positioned as a mid-to-large-size model, with dimensions exceeding those of the Toyota Hilux, according to a source familiar with the matter.

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CnEVPost has obtained several spy shots of the model wrapped in camouflage, showing some details.

More information is not yet available, but experience in the new energy vehicle (NEV) industry shows that new energy pickup trucks have the potential to bring significant improvements in intelligence and comfort compared to traditional fuel pickup trucks.

Back in late 2022, spy shots of a BYD pickup truck model undergoing road tests began circulating on Chinese social media.

Some speculation at the time claimed that the pickup could be the first model of the mysterious F brand that BYD had mentioned, though the F brand has turned out to be Formula Bao, or Fang Cheng Bao (方程豹 in Chinese), with the brand's first model being the Bao 5 SUV.

In China, pickups are categorized as light trucks and are subject to a lot of restrictions compared to regular passenger car models like sedans, SUVs and MPVs.

This could be one of the reasons why BYD is considering launching a pickup truck only after launching dozens of passenger cars, and also one of the reasons why the model will be built for the global market.

On Chinese highways, pickup trucks are required to drive in the slow lane on the far right and are not allowed to exceed 100 kilometers per hour. Regular passenger cars can legally go up to 120 kilometers per hour on the highway.

Pickup trucks in China are also required to be used for no more than 15 years, at which point they need to be scrapped.

Such vehicles are required to undergo annual inspections with transportation authorities for the first 10 years, and biannually beyond that. Regular passenger cars with seven seats or less, on the other hand, do not require on-site inspections for up to six years.

Many Chinese cities have restrictions on pickup trucks entering urban areas, although those restrictions have been narrowed over the past few years.

Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) unveiled its electric pickup truck, the Cybertruck, in November 2019 and began delivering the model on November 30, 2023, in the United States.

In January, Tesla began a tour of the Cybertruck in several Chinese cities, but has avoided calling the model a pickup truck when referring to it.

Among local automakers, Geely officially unveiled the Radar brand on July 12, 2022, along with its first model, the RD6 electric pickup truck. The model went on sale in China in October 2022, with first deliveries in late November 2022.

Radar hasn't done a lot of marketing for the RD6 in China and seems to be focusing its efforts on international markets, having launched the RD6 in Laos last November.