BYD SEAL U DM-i wins 2026 Private Hire Car of the Year award

• SEAL U DM-i named winner, voted for by readers of Professional Driver magazine
• BYD wins the award for the second year running, following on from the SEAL’s win in 2025
• BYD takes three of the top four places in the 2026 Private Hire category, with the SEALION 7 finishing second and the SEAL in fourth

30 January 2026  Professional Driver magazine has named the BYD SEAL U DM-i its Private Hire Car of the Year for 2026

It means that BYD takes back-to-back wins in the category, with the SEAL U DM-i’s victory coming 12 months after the SEAL scooped the prize in 2025. The awards, voted for by readers of Professional Driver magazine, emphasised BYD’s appeal among private hire drivers; the SEALION 7 ranked just behind the SEAL U DM-i in second place overall, while last year’s winner, the SEAL, finished fourth.

The Professional Driver Awards are among the most rigorous in the automotive industry. There are six categories in total, and a one-day judging event is held in August with an invited audience of Professional Driver readers who test and score more than 50 cars on the day. The awards were announced at the Professional Driver Awards dinner at the Brighton Metropole Hotel on January 29, 2026.

Speaking of the SEAL U DM-i's victory, Steve Beattie, Deputy Country Manager for BYD UK, said:
“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 said:
“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’s Super Hybrid with DM technology combines BYD’s Xiaoyun 1.5-litre petrol engine combined with an electric motor and a battery capacity of up to 26.6kWh - enough for an electric-only range of 78 miles.

About the Professional Driver Car of the Year Awards
The Professional Driver Car of the Year Awards, now in their 15th year, are the UK’s biggest reader-judged car awards. Every shortlisted car is delivered to our venue for evaluation by more than 100 judges, comprising invited heads of leading chauffeur and private hire firms, experienced chauffeurs, as well as carefully chosen motoring editors and journalists.

This year, more than 40 vehicles were available for the judges to test on the day, giving them a rare chance to evaluate competing products back-to-back, in real-world conditions.

Cars are tested on a circular road route, taking in urban roads and dual-carriageways. Then the cars are given a full walk-round - judges and examine systems such as the sat-nav as well as the vital boot space – we even provide test luggage for comparison purposes.

The judges are asked to drive as many of the cars as possible, and have to ride in the back of the cars – so they experience the cars from the customer’s point of view. Then each judge completes a two-page questionnaire, allocating points out of 10 for various features of the cars.

At the end of the day, the scores are totalled for each car and divided by the number of test drives to which that car was subjected, giving an overall average score.

“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 Professional Driver editor Mark Bursa.

Professional Driver magazine, launched in 2009, is the monthly publication for the UK private hire, chauffeur and taxi industry.