BYD has once again proven its dominance in the UK private hire market, with the SEAL U DM-i named Private Hire Car of the Year 2026 by readers of Professional Driver magazine. The win marks back-to-back victories for BYD in the category, following the SEAL’s triumph in 2025.
The SEAL U DM-i’s success underlines the growing appeal of BYD’s New Energy Vehicles among private hire drivers. In a strong showing for the brand, three of the top four spots in the 2026 Private Hire category were secured by BYD models: the SEALION 7 took second place, while last year’s winner, the SEAL, finished fourth.
Announcing the awards at the Professional Driver Awards dinner at the Brighton Metropole Hotel on January 29, 2026, the magazine highlighted the rigorous judging process that sets its accolades apart. With six categories in total, the awards feature a one-day judging event held in August, where an invited audience of Professional Driver readers test and score more than 50 cars in real-world conditions.
Steve Beattie, Deputy Country Manager for BYD UK, said of the SEAL U DM-i’s victory:
“I’d like to thank Professional Driver magazine and all of the readers and testers who named the SEAL U DM-i the Private Hire Car of the Year for 2026. The SEAL U DM-i was Britain’s best-selling PHEV in 2025, and winning this award shows how loved it is by professionals and retail customers alike. To take the overall prize is brilliant in itself, but to take three of the top four spots overall shows just how much appeal the BYD range of New Energy Vehicles has in the private hire market.”
Professional Driver editor Mark Bursa added:
“BYD’s impact in the market has been remarkable, and the cars are certainly hitting the spot for our readers, who are looking for an eco-friendly combination of practicality and affordability. It’s interesting that they’ve gone for a plug-in hybrid this year rather than an EV. SEAL U is ideal for longer journeys, and appeals to the many private hire drivers who don’t have access to home charging.”
The SEAL U DM-i is a Super Hybrid featuring BYD’s DM technology, which combines the Xiaoyun 1.5-litre petrol engine with an electric motor and a battery capacity of up to 26.6 kWh. This enables an electric-only range of 78 miles, making it a versatile choice for professional drivers covering both urban and longer-distance journeys.
The Professional Driver Car of the Year Awards, now in their 15th year, are the UK’s largest reader-judged car awards. Every shortlisted car is delivered to a central venue for evaluation by over 100 judges, including heads of leading chauffeur and private hire firms, experienced chauffeurs, and motoring editors.
Judges test cars on a circular road route covering urban roads and dual carriageways, and perform a full walk-around to examine features such as sat-nav systems, boot space, and passenger comfort. Each judge drives as many cars as possible, rides in the rear seats to experience the customer perspective, and completes a detailed two-page questionnaire, scoring cars across a range of criteria. Final scores are calculated as an average of all test drives, ensuring a thorough and transparent evaluation.
“This thorough and comprehensive process means we’re as certain as we can be that we’ve got a fair result – and we know how and why the results have been achieved,” said Bursa.
With the SEAL U DM-i taking the top spot and other BYD models performing strongly, the awards reinforce the brand’s growing influence in the private hire market and its reputation for combining eco-friendly technology with practical, driver-focused design.
Professional Driver magazine, launched in 2009, remains the UK’s leading publication for the private hire, chauffeur, and taxi industry.
