BYD Racco. Credit: BYD Japan
- Orders reached 1,002 as of August 9, beating BYD’s initial target of 1,000 in the first two weeks.
- The top trim accounted for 80% of orders; the company is aiming for 10,000 by the end of 2026.
BYD (HKEX: 1211) has topped 1,000 orders for its Racco battery electric kei car in Japan in two weeks, the fastest pace for any of its models in the market.
BYD’s Japan unit said on Monday that the Racco had garnered 1,002 orders from its July 28 launch through August 9, exceeding an initial target of 1,000 in two weeks, according to a Nikkei report. The company said orders were progressing smoothly.
BYD Japan later announced on X that the Racco had received a total of more than 1,000 orders.
The Racco had already drawn more than 700 orders in its first week on sale. BYD is aiming for 10,000 orders by the end of 2026, meaning it is now about 10% of the way there.
The trim mix shows buyers are willing to pay up for more range. The top-end 300 Premium accounted for 80% of all orders, followed by the standard 300 Plus at 14% and the entry-level 200 at 6%.
By purchase type, 37.5% of orders were additional vehicles for the household, 35.7% were replacements, and 26.8% came from first-time buyers.
The Racco starts at 2.145 million yen ($13,600) in Japan including tax. After a 150,000-yen government subsidy, the entry version falls below 2 million yen. Higher trims use a 35.84 kWh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery for a range of 320 kilometers.
The model is the first all-electric kei car with power sliding side doors, a feature popular in Japan. BYD said it is also the first light electric vehicle in the country with a range of more than 300 kilometers.
The Racco had 125 registrations in July, covering the first four days after launch, most of which BYD said were demo cars registered for dealers.
Cheap and compact kei cars account for nearly 40% of new vehicle sales in Japan and have long been almost entirely the preserve of local automakers. Toyota’s Suzuki and Daihatsu, together with Honda, control about 80% of the minicar market, according to Bloomberg Intelligence.
BYD Japan president Atsuki Tofukuji has said the 10,000-unit goal was driven more by conviction than by detailed market analysis.
He said that level of sales should be sustainable from next year if dealerships can generate roughly one order per day on average.
To support sales, BYD plans to expand its Japanese store network to 100 from about 80 now by the end of 2026, and to 120 by the end of 2027.
The BYD Racco starts at 2.145 million yen ($13,100) in Japan, with the price falling below 2 million yen after subsidies.
($1 = 157.7 yen)
