BYD’s latest Australian trademarks point to ute name, plug-in hybrid sedans

BYD has filed to trademark the Shark name in Australia, which could be used for the brand’s first ute, as well as a couple of names that correspond with plug-in hybrid sedans sold overseas.

Unlike other BYD filings, “pickup trucks” appears in the categorisation field on IP Australia. The filing was lodged on January 31, 2024.

BYD also filed an application for the Shark name with South Africa’s Companies and Intellectual Properties Commission in January.

The ute is expected to be revealed at the Beijing motor show, which starts on April 25. Photos of an undisguised example were recently published by AutoDinámico.

BYD’s Australian distributor has previously confirmed the ute is due to launch locally in the second half of 2024, though some examples of the dual-cab have already been spied testing.

Unspecified changes have been made to the ute as a result of local testing, but BYD’s distributor hasn’t confirmed what these are.

Overseas reports have claimed the BYD ute will first launch as a plug-in hybrid, mating a turbocharged 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine with two electric motors for a combined system output of 365kW – enough to put the 292kW Ford Ranger Raptor to shame.

An electric version is expected to follow.

BYD has also filed to trademark the King and King L names in Australia, suggesting it could be looking to add a plug-in hybrid sedan to its growing ranks.

The nameplates were also filed with IP Australia on January 31, 2024.

The King name is applied in markets like Mexico to the dramatically named (if more sedately styled) Destroyer 05, a plug-in hybrid sedan that straddles the small and medium segments.

It measures 4780mm long, 1837mm wide and 1495mm tall on a 2718mm wheelbase, slotting it between the 4630mm-long Toyota Corolla and 4905mm-long Camry sedans.

The Destroyer 05’s plug-in hybrid powertrain uses a 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine with 81kW of power and 135Nm of torque, mated with a 132kW/316Nm electric motor and an 8.3kWh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery.

It has a claimed 50km of electric range under the NEDC cycle.

First revealed in 2021, the Destroyer 05 is closely related to the Qin Plus, which is in turn based on the 2018-vintage Qin Pro.

BYD somewhat confusingly offers two parallel lineups of vehicles under its namesake brand in China, called the Ocean and Dynasty series.

The Destroyer 05 is effectively an Ocean version of the Qin Plus from the Dynasty line, and both models earlier this year received a 20 per cent price cut in China. They now start at just 79,800 yuan, equivalent to A$17,523 and undercutting some purely combustion-powered rivals.

There’s no King L anywhere in the world at the moment, but BYD is about to launch a next-generation model within its Qin line called the Qin L.

According to a Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology filing shared by Car News China, the Qin L measures 4830mm long, 1900mm wide and 1495mm tall on a 2790mm wheelbase – closer to a Camry in size, or BYD’s own electric Seal sedan.

It’ll offer a choice of two plug-in hybrid powertrains, both of which use a naturally aspirated 1.5-litre four-cylinder engine.

The first has a total system output of 120kW, with 60km of range on the CLTC cycle from its 10.08kWh lithium iron phosphate battery, while the second has a total output of 160kW and uses a 15.87kWh LFP battery with 90km of electric range.

It’s worth noting a trademark filing doesn’t necessarily confirm a vehicle is coming to Australia, but does demonstrate a brand wants to protect a name from use by other brands.

There are plenty of nameplates BYD has trademarked locally that haven’t ended up being used, like Tan, Han and Song. These were filed back in 2022.

BYD also filed to protect the Seagull nameplate in 2023, but the electric hatch has yet to be confirmed for a local launch.

There are also some names that BYD has trademarked that aren’t used overseas, like Carpe and Halo. Both names were filed in 2022.

The company’s extensive filings don’t leave many BYD nameplates left unprotected in our market, though it hasn’t filed trademarks for the Yuan Pro, Yuan Up and Frigate 07, or any Qin nameplates.

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