Dear diesel diehards: Your next dual-cab ute will be a plug-in hybrid, and you'll bloody love it | Opinion

The BYD Shark is now mere days away from being officially unveiled, and probably the most interesting thing about its unmasking will be just how the Chinese ute’s plug-in hybrid system competes with the diesels that dominate Australia’s dual-cab market.

My money is on it out-performing diesel in just about every measurable way, and that it will be the first of many plug-in hybrid dual-cab offerings in Australia — including from the diesel giants like Toyota, Mitsubishi and Ford.

You might not be ready to admit it, but diesel is done for — at least when it comes to development for new models. Sure, the diesels we have now will be around for some time yet, but will you be able to buy an all-new 2030 Toyota HiLux with a new and high-tech diesel donk? Nope.

Read More About Toyota HiLux

Plug-in power confirmed! New Mitsubishi Triton to feature petrol plug-in hybrid system with dual-cab set to leave diesel in the dust to take on Ford Ranger and BYD ute Ford leaves Toyota Hilux's wheel spinning with announcement of Ranger Plug-in Hybrid including how much it'll tow, carry and when it will land in Australia The diesel destroyer? Plug-in hybrid Toyota HiLux would offer a 200km EV driving range, without sacrificing capability, to take the fight to the Ford Ranger

There are plenty of reasons, but the biggest is that diesel is increasingly on the nose globally, and while some in Australia will continue to hold a candle for it, that won’t be enough to encourage car companies to invest huge sums in researching and developing new diesel engines.

Also at play is the fact that full BEV technology is widely considered unsuitable for commercial applications in its current guise. So what will plug the gap between old diesel and new (presumably solid-state powered) electric? The humble PHEV powertrain.

Or not-so-humble PHEV powertrain. The Shark should give us an idea of what to expect from it.

The BYD Shark is soon to be officially unveiled.

The specific powertrain is still under wraps for now, but expect it to feature a turbocharged 1.5-litre petrol engine paired with one or more electric motors. For clues, we look to the BYD Fang Cheng Bao 5, which pairs its engine with twin electric motors (one at each axle) to deliver a sizeable 500kW and 760Nm.

That’s more power, by the way, than the twin-turbo petrol V6-powered Ford Ranger Raptor.

“It's called DMI, or Dual Motor Intelligence. It is the best of both worlds – 100kms range on pure electric, and then switch over to the dual-motor technology. So we're going to have a vehicle of circa-1000kms, if not more range, but when you're driving around the city you'll be fully electric,” BYD importer Luke Todd has told CarsGuide.

Diesel is on its way out.

Towing is yet to be confirmed, but the brand has said its aiming for “benchmark” status, and to get it, it will need to deliver 3.5 tonnes, so that will surely be the target.

But the Shark is just the first of a wave of plug-in hybrid products that will reshape the dual-cab segment. Don't believe me?

Toyota is working on PHEV tech for the HiLux.

“Battery technology evolves, and it's evolving quickly. If we can get to a situation where a PHEV has the capability of doing 200-plus kilometres on BEV alone — so in other words, if I've got a HiLux I can just go around town, I can run that on BEV and be carbon-neutral pretty well, providing I'm using renewable energy to do it,” Toyota Australia’s VP of Sales and Marketing, Sean Hanley, has told CarsGuide.

“Now the issue is of course can it tow? Can it take a heavy load? Well, to be able to flick a switch and say, well, for those moments where I'm going out off-road or for those moments where I need to tow a heavy load, I've got the convenience of going to a normal hybrid engine and I can get 500 or 600 kilometres and it's convenient, then I see a role for PHEV in that space.”

Toyota is developing a PHEV HiLux. (Image: Tom White)

Mitsubishi is working on PHEV tech for the Triton.

“Of course we can use such a technology. Mitsubishi Motors is researching and developing such a system, but at this moment launching time is not decided yet,” Kaoru Sawase, Mitsubishi's Engineering Fellow responsible for 4WD systems and advanced engineers, told CarsGuide in Tokyo.

And of course, Ford’s plug-in Ranger will be here in 2025.

“(It’s) a Ranger that gives Australians a pick-up that enables them to embrace electrification without compromising anything they love about their Ranger and that is the Ranger Plug-in Hybrid,” Ford Australia' and New Zealand CEO Andrew Birkic said in a briefing to the media.

So the reality is, plug-in utes are coming. So you might as well climb aboard the PHEV train. Because I reckon they’re going to make diesels look like dinosaurs in Australia.