Beyond the battery: How BYD plans to make EVs work in South Africa

GO AHEAD, I dare you … Just try to mention electric vehicles (EVs) to me or any of my Gen X gang, and you’ll receive a very jaded, cynical response.

Our response – due to being folk who grew up during a time that power cuts were a foreign concept – will be something along the lines of: "Electric vehicles? In South Africa? Are you serious? Where will you charge your car when our country’s electricity grid is so unstable and unreliable?”

The reader has to understand; yes, clean technology is important to us, we’re not that out of touch with reality. But we are also realistic enough to know that keeping the batteries on your EV charged, amidst load-shedding, strained power grids, and cable theft, will be a challenge.

However, fellow cynics, sit up for a moment and consider what’s coming our way in the very near future.

Global new energy vehicle giant BYD (Build Your Dreams) is expanding aggressively in South Africa. During an exclusive briefing in Johannesburg, Executive Vice President Stella Li described the country as “a pivotal market and a future springboard for regional growth,” highlighting sustainable mobility solutions, dealer network expansion, and technology transfer plans.

Note especially the phrase “technology transfer plans”.

Part of this push includes 200 to 300 public charging stations planned for 2026, alongside ultra-fast 1MW charging technology. These measures aim to support a new generation of rapid charging and signal BYD’s focus on more than just selling vehicles.

Of course we Gen X cynics will now stand up and sing in chorus, asking what’s the use of having between 200 and 300 public charging stations across the country, when our grid will not be able to supply these charging points with power?

But the company headquartered in Shenzhen, China is a few leaps ahead.

Building the ecosystem

“BYD's presence in South Africa represents our commitment to being more than an automotive brand – we are a technology company delivering comprehensive new energy solutions for this market,” said Nomonde Kweyi, Marketing Director, BYD South Africa, MEA Region.

Kweyi emphasised that the company’s strategy spans electric cars and plug-in hybrids, batteries, renewable energy generation, and storage systems. BYD is expanding its dealer network, deepening local partnerships, and offering practical solutions such as flexible PHEVs that balance current market needs with a fully electric future.

In addition, the company is working with ABSA on tailored finance options and engaging with Eskom and government entities to strengthen EV infrastructure, including grid readiness and sustainable energy integration for charging networks.

And the Gen X choir sits down … almost satisfied.

Practical vehicles for a local market

While cynics may still question the feasibility of EV adoption in a country grappling with power reliability, BYD’s integrated approach shows that the company is thinking beyond making vehicles look appealing. 

It’s investing in the infrastructure, technology, and partnerships needed to make electric mobility achievable.

In a market full of challenges, BYD is positioning itself not merely as a carmaker but as a builder of a new mobility ecosystem – one that may eventually make even the most skeptical South African reconsider what’s possible.