The financial argument in favour of double-cab pick-up trucks has taken a turn for the worse in the UK, because their previously enticing benefit-in-kind tax breaks have evaporated and they’re now simply viewed by HMRC as cars.

 

But BYD thinks differently. The Chinese firm reckons this is an ideal moment to launch its new Shark in the UK – for the following reasons. First, it comes only as a plug-in hybrid, the BIK tax on which is around a quarter of that charged for comparative diesels. Second, BYD has seen how successful Ford has been with the PHEV version of its market-dominating Ranger (nearing 30% in an arena formerly dominated by diesels). And third, albeit unspoken, BYD wants to offer a full line of models here and a pick-up flags that intention.