Reckon BYD's first ute will flop against Toyota HiLux and Ford Ranger? More than 20,000 Australians are ready to prove you wrong as plug-in hybrid dual-cab firms as top seller

BYD's bullish claims about its first-ever ute appear to be striking a chord with Aussie buyers, with the brand's importer, EVDirect, holding some 20,000 registrations of interest before specifics, or a price, have even been announced.

It's a level of interest that has helped convince EVDirect and BYD that its first ute will be able to seize a sizeable chunk of Australia's "astronomical" ute market, stealing sales from the Toyota HiLux, Ford Ranger, Mitsubishi Triton and Nissan Navara, amongst many others.

"We have more than 20,000 (who have) registered interest already on our website, and we haven't even announced the vehicle for official sale or anything yet," says EVDirect chief, Luke Todd.

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"So as you know, the market for pick-ups in Australia is astronomical. They normally (take numbers) one and two (on the best-seller list), other than Tesla Model Y.

"So for us to have that much interest already, we're pretty excited when we put it onto the market."

It's worth pointing out that if BYD can convert that interest into sales, and secure that many vehicles for delivery, it would put the brand's first ute right among the market's top sellers.

In terms of 4X4 sales, the Ford Ranger has shifted 44,902 units so far this year, and is followed by the HiLux with 39,705. BYD's 20,000 sales would put it neck-and-neck with the third-placed Isuzu (20,026 sales), and ahead of Triton, Navara, BT-50 and everyone else.

That said, simply registering interest doesn't mean all will convert to sales.

The same plug-in hybrid technology exists in the brand's U8 luxury SUV.

The news follows Mr Todd this week confirming the ute's powertrain, with a plug-in hybrid to launch, and a full BEV to follow a "year of so later".

The launch model will be a "best of both worlds" ute that can travel 100kms in pure electric mode, or around a 1000kms when the petrol tank and battery are combined.

"It's called DMI, or Dual Motor Intelligence," Mr Todd says.

"For Australia, in my opinion, I'm so happy that we ended up bringing this one first and not the pure electric, which will come probably a year or so later."

The same plug-in hybrid technology exists in the brand's U8 luxury SUV - also confirmed for Australia - which pairs a small 2.0-litre turbo-petrol engine with four electric motors - one at each wheel - to deliver a staggering 880kW and 1280Nm.

BYD is yet to confirm specifics of the ute's powertrain, though it has confirmed it will feature a 1.5-litre turbo-petrol engine, pointing to lower outputs than the U8.