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It’s never a good sign when car companies don’t tell you how many cars they’ve sold.
Typically car makers love to spread the word about how successful it has been and tell you exactly how beloved its vehicles are. So when they decided not to reveal the details of their newest model’s popularity, it does raise red flags.
Which suggests sales of the new Ford Ranger plug-in hybrid (PHEV) may not be reaching the highest heights that the company was hoping for. When asked for details on the hybrid Ranger’s success, a Ford spokesperson told CarsGuide that the company doesn’t break out sales data for its individual models.
Instead it told us this: “We are pleased to see customers nationwide adopting new technology and reaping the benefits of Ranger Hybrid, such as Pro Power On Board, to get the most out of their vehicle.”
You’ll notice at no point did it indicate how many “customers” are enjoying these benefits. It could be hundreds or it could be two (but that seems unlikely).
To be fair, Ford has never revealed the details of its individual models, namely its flagship Raptor, which is believed to be a sales success. So just because they won’t say how many customers have plugged-in to Ranger, it doesn’t mean it’s a sales flop.
But if car makers were hoping that the plug-in hybrid technology would be the saviour of the ute segment, there are signs that there is still a long way to go before customers fully embrace this new breed of ute.
The best example we have is the BYD Shark 6. Why? Because it’s an entirely PHEV-powered ute and therefore all of its published sales are the PHEV-powered model.
So far in 2025, year-to-date to August, the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) tells us that BYD has sold 12,918 Shark 6. GWM revealed to CarsGuide that it has sold 441 Cannon Alpha PHEV in the four months it has been on sale.
The FCAI also tells us that there have been 13,936 PHEV ‘commercial vehicles’ sold, which doesn’t leave a lot of sales for the rest of the PHEV commercial offerings (which includes the Ranger) to pick up - just 607 to be precise.
Those three utes are the most notable PHEV-powered workhorses, so the success or failure of them will shape the course of the market for years to come. If they become a popular new alternative to turbo diesel engines, as the Shark 6 is threatening to do, then it will give rival brands the confidence to push ahead with their own. Alternatively, if they fade away after a strong start, it will likely mean the end of PHEV utes for the foreseeable future.
Don’t believe me? Compare the amount of ‘Raptor rival’ tough utes on sale today and then think back to how many convertible SUVs you saw after the Range Rover Evoque drop-top flopped…
There is no question the Shark 6 has made an impact, in a crowded and highly-competitive market the BYD is already the fourth best-selling 4x4 ute this year, behind only the Ranger, Toyota HiLux and Isuzu D-Max — and after missing the month of January.
However, there are two very big months on the Shark’s books, specifically the 2810 sales in March and 2993 sales in June. Is it a coincidence that the fringe benefit tax on PHEVs ended on April 1 and EV Direct handed over the reins of BYD to the factory in July…
Other than those two outliers, the Shark consistently does between 1200-1300 sales a month, which is solid but still well behind the Ranger and HiLux (although so is everything else).
If the Shark can maintain its current rate of sales, then that’s probably enough to convince others of the merits of entering the PHEV ute contest. Other brands have already begun openly discussing it, Hyundai, for example, has made it clear it believes introducing another diesel-powered ute is simply not a starter for its planned entry later this decade.
But whether or not how many brands drop diesel for hybrids will likely play out in the coming months and years, as the Shark 6, Ranger and Cannon Alpha carve a trail for the others to follow… or ignore.
