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

• Wayne Dopson runs a renovation company in Brisbane, Australia, and bought a hybrid byd Shark pick-up in March.

• He said it was great to drive compared to his old gas truck, but fears that he was obsolete in a few years.

• Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers develop quickly in Australia without a price, putting Tesla under pressure.

This also filed test is based on a conversation with Wayne Dopson, project manager in Brisbane, Australia, about the possession of a hybrid byd Shark van. It was published for duration and clarity.

I have always been on the real estate market, overthrowing houses and making renovations. I have a small renovation business, working on kitchens, bathrooms and terraces for Brisbane customers, which I have been doing for about 12 years now.

I bought a VW Pick-Up Amarok Diesel in 2015. I wanted to upgrade for a while, but nothing happened that interested me.

Other combustion motor trucks such as the Ford Ranger were all very similar to the Amarok. I would have obtained almost the same car with just a larger screen, so I waited for something a little different.

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

Ford and Toyota charge ridiculous prices for their vans or UTES in Australia. You look up to up to $ 80,000 for something that is, for me, lower than byd 60,000.

I have only done 2000 kilometers in the shark, so I still learn the car, but so far I like to drive it.

Technology, power and sweetness – it feels decades in advance on the Amarok.

Luxury and cheap power

The level of luxury inside is incredible for money. I have owned Audis and BMW and it seems just as well, just as solid and well constructed as a premium car. It also makes 0 to 100 km / h in 5.7 seconds, so it drives like a sports car.

I mainly use it for work as well as for leisure, and there are some advantages to use it for work.

It just costs me hundred to execute it every day. I have 30 solar panels on my roof, so my electricity during the day is free.

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

If I put the car to bill at midnight, it is done around 4 am, and it usually costs less than two Australian dollars, or $ 1.03. I would use $ 13 or 14 dollars ($ 8-9) from Diesel per day in the VW Amarok, so comparatively it is very inexpensive to work.

The other advantage is that you have sockets at the back of the truck which provide around six kilowatts of energy, which you can use on site on electrical tools.

He has a very large tray with a few small laps in his sleeve. You can open your tailgate with quick pressure on the key, which is practical if you put your hands full.

The beach is not a problem

The shark is what they call a EREV, or electric vehicle with extensive range. It has two electric motors, in the front and rear, and it also has a 1.5 -liter petrol engine which acts as a generator.

The petrol engine means that anxiety of the distribution area is not really one thing for me.

Generally, I do less than 100 kilometers per day, which will be done in electric mode, but if I want to go to the beach or further on the coast, I have the petrol engine right there.

This comes into play and loads the battery and I am ready to go for about 800 kilometers.

The only thing that would worry me on the line is the resale value. I have already seen that new vehicles leave Nissan, Ford and Great Wall.

Technology is advancing like crazy at the moment, so my shark could be quite obsolete in five years.

He has a six -year warranty and I plan to keep it for the warranty period. What is going to be worth it at the end is the assumption of anyone.

Byd is told in Australia

I think that having more brands of Chinese electric vehicles in Australia is great. We get longer warranty periods and better quality cars.

UTES are a very important part of Australian culture. One of the problems with which the Shark Byd will be confronted is that he does not have the same off -road references as a vehicle with a diff – a axle mechanism you need to crawl on rocks and damaged land.

It is of course on the sand and in the mud, but when it comes to very serious all-terrain, where you crawl huge hills with ruts and rocks, it will fight.

For me, however, the shark is great. It's a pleasure to drive, and it is good to be able to drive knowing that it does not cost me either and also does not cost the planet.

Read the original article on Initiate of Business