Why This China-Made BYD Shark Pickup Is Drawing Attention in the Global Truck Market

Some familiar practices and elements include the overall exterior design being similar to the F-150, including its lighting and a pullout tailgate step; the front seat interior design resembling Toyota; and certain production aspects of the vehicle being used from other trucks. Most notably, its frame — the backbone of the vehicle — is dipped in wax. That’s a process to reduce corrosion that GM has been doing for decades, according to Woychowski.

“You can tell where they benchmarked and whom,” Woychowski said while inspecting the vehicle’s underbody. “Ford back here, GM under there and Toyota over there.”

That’s not to say the vehicle isn’t unique. While Caresoft still needs to tear down the Shark to understand its build processes and parts better, the vehicle’s interior design and, most notably, its hybrid powertrain is unlike anything currently offered in the U.S.

Terry Woychowski, president of automotive at engineering consulting firm Caresoft Global, inside the company’s large teardown and benchmarking facility in Livonia, Michigan.

Caresoft Global

For example, some of the battery technologies are placed under the back seats, eliminating storage space, and there are bungee cords to hold up the vehicle’s back bench seat when it’s folded.

“This is actually quite poorly done,” Woychowski said regarding the back seat. “I would watch this space. I bet they fix this up quite nicely.”

Other not-so-easy to spot unusual elements include an over-engineered rear suspension with dual control arms (instead of one each); a considerably straight frame; an unnecessary amount of jack lifts under the vehicle for lifting it; and using hydraulic arms for the heavy tailgate, he said.

Woychowski said clients have taken particular interest in Chinese automakers, including BYD, because of their growth and quickness in developing new products and making improvements to existing models.

“It’s a credible truck,” Woychowski said about the Shark. “There’s some things they did very well. There’s some things that they can do to clean it up, but that’s not a hard job to do.”

— CNBC’s Michael Bloom contributed to this report.