Motoring23.06.2025

The Chinese electric car company expanding across South Africa

Electric car manufacturer Build Your Dreams (BYD) is aiming to follow in the footsteps of many of its fellow Chinese brands and rapidly grow in the South African market.

The company, currently the world’s largest new energy vehicle manufacturer, was founded thirty years ago in 1995 as a battery manufacturer with R11.3 million in capital and just 20 employees.

Some of BYD’s initial major contracts included supplying lithium-ion batteries to cellphone manufacturers like Motorola and Nokia.

However, after acquiring Xi’an Tsinchuan Auto in 2003, it began work on the world’s first plug-in hybrid vehicle, the BYD F3 compact car, which launched in the Chinese market in 2005.

BYD’s developments in the automotive market soon attracted the attention of Warren Buffett’s MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company, which is currently known as Berkshire Hathaway Energy.

Berkshire Hathaway Energy acquired a 10% stake in BYD for roughly $220 million (R4 billion) in 2008.

Two years later, BYD and Mercedes-Benz owner Daimler AG established the Shenzhen Daimler BYD New Technology Company. This venture would cater to the luxury electric vehicle market.

Since then, BYD has evolved into an electric vehicle powerhouse, with over 30 industrial parks and more than 290,000 employees worldwide.

While BYD is known for its electric cars, the company has also ventured into other forms of electrified transport, such as buses and the rail transit sector.

BYD launched its automotive business in South Africa in mid-2023 by introducing the Atto 3, a pure electric SUV with a combined range of 420km.

This was followed by the launch of the Dolphin hatchback and the Seal sedan, both of which are pure electric vehicles.

Most recently, BYD introduced three new models to the South African market, including its first plug-in hybrid to be made available in the country.

These vehicles included a bakkie, the BYD Shark, and two SUVs, the BYD Sealion 6 and the BYD Sealion 7. The Shark and Sealion 6 are plug-in hybrids, while the Sealion 7 is fully electric.

BYD’s South African footprint

Determining BYD’s success in South Africa by sales remains a mystery as the company is yet to report these figures to the National Automobile Association of South Africa (Naamsa).

However, it has told local media about its dealership strategy and the importance of the South African market to its expansion plans.

According to BYD South Africa GM Steve Chang, the company has established 13 dealerships since launching the Atto 3.

It aims to increase this to 20 by the end of the year and reach between 30 and 35 by the end of 2026.

“South Africa is one of the most important automotive markets in the southern hemisphere,” Chang told Reuters earlier in the year.

“It’s probably the biggest market in all of Africa, so it’s a market that we have to look at and see how we can develop the market.”

In 2023, a Cabinet statement revealed ongoing talks about the possibility of BYD opening a manufacturing plant in South Africa.

President Cyril Ramaphosa and Minister of Trade, Industry, and Competition, Parks Tau, visited BYD’s Shenzhen headquarters at the end of 2024.

The company recently informed TopAuto that it has limited information about the new facility, suggesting that discussions are yet to progress.

BYD has also entered South Africa’s public transport market by agreeing to supply Golden Arrow Bus Service with 120 electric buses by the end of the year.

Golden Arrow’s company engineer said that electricity costs are expected to be 70% less than diesel.

Rigorous testing of the new buses began in 2020, with a 37-seater BYD K9 bus. Golden Arrow then introduced two electric buses into service in 2021. Testing was then expanded to include the 65-seater buses in January 2023.

“As a South African, it is a great honour to introduce BYD electric buses and its advanced technologies to South Africa,” said Chang.

“This order is a testament to our shared vision of a sustainable future and highlights the increasing adoption of clean energy solutions in South Africa.”