From BYD to Toyota: Wave of new electric bakkies to enter SA market

The future of electric and hybrid bakkies is expanding in South Africa, with several new models set to launch.

From new players such as BYD’s Shark 6 and the Riddara RD6, to established brands such as Ford, Toyota, and Isuzu are entering the EV market.

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Technical expert Nicol Louw says the Shark model is a plug-in hybrid with impressive performance and a range of 85km on electric power alone.

“It made quite a bit of headlines when it was launched because it's got a total power output of 321 kilowatts, and that’s because it has dual electric motors, one on each axle, but it also had a turbo petrol engine as well. That is zero to 100 km/h in 5,7 seconds, which is very quick for a bakkie.”

The Riddara RD6 is a fully electric double-cab bakkie manufactured by Geely.

Set to be launched this year, it marks South Africa’s first all-electric 4x4 bakkie.

Louw notes that Toyota is also set to release an all-electric 4x4 Hilux with two electric motors, one on each axle. 

It claims 144 kilowatts with a range of about 240km on a single charge.

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To listen to Louw in conversation with 702’s Relebogile Mabotja, click the audio player below: