BYD Partners with Eskom to Deploy Fast-Charging Network Across South Africa
In an interview with Bloomberg on 16 October 2025, BYD EVP Stella Li revealed that the company is planning to deploy a fast-charging network in South Africa. South Africa is the biggest vehicle market in Africa and even has its own car industry dating back more than a century.
The announcement follows the MoU between BYD and Eskom, the South African national electric corporation, signed in September 2025. Since 2024, Eskom has launched its first pilot EV charging station in Midrand. Thus, South Africa will serve as a pilot before expanding into other African countries.
The move comes to address two issues impeding the widespread adoption of electric vehicles (#EV): lack of charging infrastructure and limited range. The move also coincides with the launch of the BYD Dolphin Surf which is positioned to be the most affordable EV on the South African market.
BYD has accumulated a strong experience in China with more than 4,000 charging stations in operation. Stella Li envisages building between 200 and 300 charging stations across South Africa. Initially, BYD will leverage its dealer network with charging capabilities. So far, BYD has about 35 dealership locations in South Africa. Then, BYD has identified ‘strategic highway sites’ and high-traffic urban neighborhoods.
The charging network is expected to come online gradually and reach the stated target by the end of 2026. Concurrently, BYD plans to expand the number of dealership sites up to 70 by the end of 2026. To promote #eMobility and address electricity access in remote areas, BYD is contemplating using solar power with battery storage.
BYD has developed a fast-charging technology that can charge the battery of an EV from 10% to 70% in just five minutes. BYD even claims its Flash Charging technology is roughly four times faster than the Tesla Supercharger. The technology is marketed as ‘Ready in Five’ and can add hundreds of kilometers of travel in just a few minutes, depending on the size of the vehicle, its load, and the road conditions.