BYD Is Building A Kei Car

As part of its crusade to become the biggest car company in the world, Chinese automaker BYD is embarking on a side quest arguably no other non-Japanese brand has completed before: the Japanese kei car. Launched this week is the BYD Racco, a tiny, van-shaped EV that's small enough to comply with Japanese kei car regulations, measuring just under 134 inches long, 58 inches wide, and less than 71 inches tall. It seats four, has a 9.9 cubic foot cargo area, and, crucially, a turning circle of just 31.5 feet. Pretty typical for a kei car but, for comparison, a Honda Civic's turning circle is 36.1 feet.

A single motor powering the front wheels makes just 63 horsepower and 118 lb-ft of torque. Fast charging can recoup energy at speeds up to 50 kW, there's a battery pre-heat function, and range will depend on trim. The base Racco 200 is good for 130 miles thanks to a 22.4-kWh battery, while the 300 Plus and 300 Premium cars get 199 miles of range from a bigger 35.8-kWh battery. The latter two also get nicer interior materials (Plus gets waterproof fabric while Premium gets synthetic leather) as well as double the exterior color choices.

That name, by the way, appears to be a reference to the fact that it kind of looks like a raccoon with its black eye-mask-style headlights.

Rocking 15-inch wheels, electric sliding doors, and a 10.1-inch touchscreen inside, the Racco 200 starts at the Japanese yen equivalent of $13,000, while the 300 Plus and 300 Premium models go for $14,600 and $15,200, respectively. Those prices are before an available $900 government subsidy in Japan, which would make the base model a $12,000 car — BYD is also offering zero yen down, 60-month financing for just $120 a month. 

BYD

In the context of new kei car MSRPs, that's more expensive than a comparable gas alternative but is cheap considering it's electric. The gas-powered Honda N-Box and Toyota Roomy can both be had for less than $11,000, but the electric Nissan Sakura starts at a little under $15,000 and touts 112 miles of range. 

BYD

Kei cars are very much a Japan-only thing and, unsurprisingly, the only automakers who have successfully cracked that market are Japanese. Time will tell whether the BYD Racco stands to break that streak, but considering how loyal the average Japanese car buyer is to domestic brands, it's probably in for an uphill battle. That said, the value proposition here feels strong, weirder things have happened, and if BYD actually pulls it off, it'll have one car industry bragging right that no other brand in history has been able to bag.