Engineers Pulled BYD's CHASSIS Apart — What They Found Isn't What Aussies Expect

📕 The Aussie Car Buyer's Bible — the checks I'd do on any Chinese ute before you sign 👉 https://aussiemechanicgreg.com Two and a half millimetres. That is the number this whole video turns on, and it is not the number anybody was expecting. An American benchmarking firm took the body off a BYD Shark 6 and put the bare frame on a bench. They did not find a thin chassis. They found thick-gauge steel up to 2.5mm, arc welding right through, and a second steel channel inside the main rails — and one of them said you'd have to hit it with a tank. Then they wrote it up as a fault. That is the video. An engineer and a bloke in a driveway look at the same chassis rail and ask two different questions — and in this country only one of those answers ends up on your rego papers and your fuel receipts. What I cover: - What Munro & Associates actually measured: 2.5mm frame rails, extensive arc welding, and a second C-channel held in with puddle welds - Why they praise the weld quality, credit the frame with unusual side-impact resistance, and still call the design "immature" - Thick welded rail versus a casting: which one a regional chassis shop can actually fix - The weights nobody reads, and the GCM trap: 2,710kg kerb, 3,500kg GVM, 790kg payload, 2,500kg braked tow — but 5,750kg combined, so towing 2,500kg leaves about 540kg for people, gear and towball - The measured tow number: 17.4L/100km behind a 2,400kg van against claims of 2.0 and 7.9 - The underbody question answered with what is actually on the record, including BYD's own statement - The honest other half: five-star ANCAP, 18,000+ sold last year, and the 3,500kg-rated Performance - The GVM-upgrade question to put to your installer in writing before you pay FACT-CHECK: Munro & Associates' published BYD Shark teardown analysis reports frame rails in thick-gauge steel up to 2.5mm with extensive arc welding, a second C-channel fitted inside the main rails via puddle welds and credited with unusually high side-impact resistance, a rear drive-unit cradle both welded and bolted to the frame, and weld quality described as excellent; the same analysis criticises the construction as antithetical to lean design because the added weight costs energy, likens the welded members to 1940s military vehicles, quotes "you'd have to hit this with a tank" and Sandy Munro calling the frame "immature", and contrasts it with the Ford F-150 Lightning's single large rear casting. BYD Shark 6 Premium (1.5L PHEV): kerb 2,710kg, GVM 3,500kg, payload quoted at 790kg (825kg in some listings), braked towing 2,500kg, towball 250kg, GCM 5,750kg, 321kW/650Nm, 29.58kWh LFP blade battery, about 100km claimed EV range, 0-100km/h 5.7s, claimed 2.0L/100km above 25% charge and 7.9L/100km depleted; no low range; coil-sprung independent rear end; the tub is not owner-removable because it houses high-voltage components. A carsales tow test behind a 2,400kg caravan measured 17.4L/100km with roughly 200kg on the towball, noted the vehicle reverts to standard mode and uses the petrol engine to hold charge with a trailer connected, and concluded it tows with excellent stability but is limited by capacity and range. Initial Shark 6 Performance examples arrived in Australia missing a section of underbody protection specific to that grade after a build-process error; BYD Australia told Drive "it's not a safety issue", that it "doesn't affect performance", and that customers could wait for the part or have it fitted at the first service; about one in two took delivery without it. Corrosion was separately reported on some BYD Atto 3 examples in Australia and New Zealand in 2025, described as relatively rare, with repairs covered under warranty; BYD states its bodies are electro-galvanised. No established pattern of Shark 6 chassis or underbody-coating failure could be verified and none is claimed here. Five-star ANCAP on 2025 testing: 85% adult occupant, 87% child occupant, 74% vulnerable road user, 86% safety assist. More than 18,000 sold in Australia in 2025, close to 10% of the 4x4 ute segment behind the HiLux and Ranger. The 2026 Shark 6 Performance is rated to tow 3,500kg with 350kW/700Nm and about 762kg payload. A federally approved pre-registration GVM upgrade to 3,850kg is offered by Ironman 4x4. All weights, prices and consumption figures are indicative and vary by grade and build date; the compliance plate is the authority. DISCLAIMER: General information and my honest opinion — NOT purchasing, mechanical, insurance, financial or legal advice. No manufacturer, importer, dealer, engineering firm or publication named here is accused of any wrongdoing; teardown findings and quotations are attributed to the firm that published them. Weight and towing limits differ by grade, build date and state — read your own compliance plate before towing or loading. Always have a qualified mechanic carry out a pre-purchase inspection.