BYD commences sales of Racco electric kei car in Japan

In a major step toward making deeper inroads into the Japanese auto market, BYD has commenced sales of its electric kei car, the Racco. The company manufactures this model in Changzhou (Jiangsu Province), China, and says it is the first kei car designed by any overseas automaker. The Chinese automaker has launched the Racco in three configurations: 200, 300 Plus, and 300 Premium, priced at 2.145 million yen (11,514 euros), 2.398 million yen (12,872 euros), and 2.497 million yen (13,404 euros), respectively. All three configurations are eligible for a government subsidy of 150,000 yen (805 euros), which brings the effective price to 1.995 million yen (10,709 euros), 2.248 million yen (12,067 euros), and 2.347 million yen (12,599 euros), respectively. The Racco measures 3.5 m in length, 1.5 m in width, and 1.8 m in height. It has a 2.5 m wheelbase and a turning radius of 4.8 metres. The electric kei car accommodates four people and offers 280 litres of luggage space, expandable to 1,372 litres by folding the rear seats. Depending on the configuration selected, it weighs 1,160 to 1,230 kg. BYD equips the Racco with a permanent magnet synchronous motor that develops 47 kW and 160 Nm of torque across the line-up. However, it uses a 22.40 kWh LFP battery pack in the 200 configuration and a 35.84 kWh LFP battery pack in the 300 Plus and 300 Premium configurations, both featuring cell-to-body technology. The former delivers a range of 210 kilometres, while the latter extends the figure to 320 kilometres. A Type 1 AC port integrated into the right-side front quarter panel allows charging the 22.40 kWh battery pack at 3 kW and the 35.84 kWh battery pack at 6 kW. There’s also a CHAdeMO port for DC charging beside it, which allows charging them at 35.8 kW and 49.7 kW, respectively. Vehicle-to-Load (V2L) and Vehicle-to-Home (V2H) support is standard across the line-up. The Racco features electrically sliding doors on both sides. When a person approaches the door with the key, the vehicle projects a light guide onto the ground, and waving a foot over this projection automatically unlocks and opens the door. The electric kei car also includes an NFC key for added convenience. BYD uses high-strength steel in approximately 70 per cent of the chassis and laser welding to join the roof and side panels. The company says this gives the Racco an extremely high rigidity despite its tall body and electrically sliding doors. It also equips the car with Accelerator Misapplication Prevention, Lane Departure Prevention, Adaptive Cruise Control, Automatic Emergency Braking, front (ventilated) and rear (solid) disc brakes, and six airbags for enhanced safety. The carmaker had unveiled its first kei car at the 2025 Japan Mobility Show in October of last year. The company said that it has no plans to offer the model in markets outside Japan. byd-pr.jp (in Japanese), byd.com (Japanese), autonews.com (manufacturing)