About the Kia Tasman and BYD Shark 6…

Two new utes launching into an ultra-competitive market.

One’s a gamechanger, the other is not.

You never know till you drive it, but what does the Tasman offer that we can’t already have? Not power. Not an innovative drivetrain. Not a super heavy duty payload. Not amazing tech.

I cannot see anything in the specs that impresses me, that moves the game on. And Kia don’t have the trust of the ute buyers like Toyota, Ford, Isuzu and Mitsubishi. Maybe the price will be ultra sharp?

Perhaps Kia thought everyone would love the styling. Well, good luck there, if you’re trying to sell a ute based on its looks that’s difficult even if people love the styling, but the reaction to the Tasman has been negative, and I stand by my try-hard tacticool summary of its looks.

I’m surprised a company like Kia hasn’t done better. They could have done, they have the ability. Series hybrid? 1300kg payload? Forward control? Monster power? Even something simple like 33s, disconnects and twin lockers as standard. Air suspension. Something, some headline! Instead, it’s a PX2 that’s been styled by Tonka. Why buy a Tasman over a Ranger? I cannot say.

Now for the BYD Shark 6. Here we have a genuine gamechanger. Cheap to buy, even cheaper to run, PHEV, series hybrid drivetrain, loads of tech. There are headlines right there, a real market difference, a niche. It’s not a Ranger or Hilux equivalent, but it doesn’t need to be, it is its own vehicle. Looks good, too. Why buy a Shark over a Ranger? Plenty of reasons.

The difference is reflected in the interest. There’s lots of active BYD Shark FB groups, not so much Tasman. I’ll bet that Kia won’t take thousands of orders the moment books are open either.

The Chinese are taking over, and not just because of price wars. They’re also offering genuine innovation.