CHINESE electric vehicle (EV) juggernaut BYD plans to launch its first electrified pickup truck for the global market later this year, throwing down the gauntlet to Toyota Motor’s popular HiLux, Ford Motor’s Ranger and Isuzu Motors’s D-Max.

Photos released by BYD show a boxy dual-cab truck daubed in orange and blue camouflage paint being road tested in an unspecified location. While the company did not release any details on the powertrain, performance specifications or pricing, it said the mid- to full-size truck will be its first “new energy” pickup.

While BYD vehicles are not available in the US, the automaker has been pushing into markets in Asia, Australia and South America, where pickups are popular. For instance, Toyota’s Hilux, Isuzu’s D-Max and Ford’s Ranger pickups are the top three selling vehicles in Australia. Isuzu last month unveiled an electric version of the D-Max.

The pickup will add to BYD’s broad lineup of EVs, from the popular Seagull hatchback, which sells for 69,800 yuan, or less than US$10,000, all the way up to its Yangwang supercar that goes for 1.7 million yuan (S$323,481). That range, and an aggressive wave of price cuts, has helped BYD dominate China’s EV market – the world’s largest, with a 33 per cent market share last year. BLOOMBERG