BYD EV charging powers COTY judging

Jurors put the pedal to the metal at Zwartkops Raceway earlier this month (5 March 2026) to test the 20 Car of the Year (COTY) finalists. To support the evaluation, BYD South Africa provided a prototype mobile electric vehicle (EV) charging unit that enabled on-site charging during the testing programme.

The finalists include the BYD Dolphin Surf EV and Shark 6 plug-in hybrid (PHEV) bakkie.

“The deployment marks the first use of a mobile charging unit for PHEV’s and EV’s of this type in South Africa,” said a BYD SA statement.

According to the automaker, the system demonstrates how portable charging infrastructure can support electric mobility in environments where permanent charging stations are not yet available.

The two BYD vehicles form part of a growing presence of Chinese brands among the COTY finalists. The winners will be revealed at a gala event in Johannesburg during the first week of May. Sheryl Goldstuck, editor of GadgetWheels, is serving on the SA COTY jury for a third consecutive year.

Supporting the growth of SA’s EV ecosystem

As electric mobility continues to expand globally, attention is increasingly shifting toward practical solutions that enable real-world deployment. According to BYD, new energy vehicle (NEV) adoption is gradually increasing in SA as more manufacturers enter the market and charging infrastructure continues to develop.

This shift, says BYD, places greater emphasis on flexible charging technologies capable of supporting vehicle testing environments, temporary installations and locations where permanent infrastructure may not yet be available.

Nomonde Kweyi, BYD SA marketing director for Middle East and Africa, says: “One of the biggest questions South Africans still have around electric mobility is charging availability and range confidence. Solutions like this demonstrate how flexible charging technologies can support electric vehicles in real-world environments while the country’s charging infrastructure continues to grow.”

Prototype mobile charging technology

The prototype mobile charging system deployed at Zwartkops Raceway is designed to provide approximately 10 hours of continuous operation. BYD says the device includes:

• Two 30kW DC fast-charging units.
• A power inverter system.
• Two 215kWh lithium-ion battery packs integrated with the inverter.
• Approximately 320kW usable power capacity.
• High-speed DC charging capability.

The mobile unit aims to demonstrate how portable EV charging technology can support automotive events, vehicle testing environments and other temporary applications, while contributing to the continued development of SA’s electric mobility ecosystem.