BYD’s first Japan-only model makes the bold step of taking on local giants at their own game.
BYD has unveiled the cabin design of its Racco electric kei car as the Chinese automaker prepares to enter Japan’s compact vehicle segment later this year.
The interior reveal shows a layout designed specifically for the Japanese kei car market, featuring a gear lever positioned on a compact centre console with bench-style front seats split in a 40:60 ratio.
The dashboard features a roughly 10.25-inch floating touchscreen above a line of physical buttons and rollers for the climate control, volume, driving modes, and heated front seats, and a roughly 8-inch digital instrument cluster ahead of the driver.
A storage tray features on the dashboard, while a glovebox, cupholder, and 12V and USB-A and USB-C sockets are also visible further down the centre console.
Images taken at the launch give a clearer picture of the interior which features front seats adjustable in four directions, a rear bench split 40:60 in the same format at the front seats (40% on the passenger side, 60% on the driver side), and a large amount of legroom.
It also shows an interior optimised for cabin height with tall, slim windows, quarter lights at the front and rear to maximise visibility, and while this isn’t clear in the images, we can expect rear seats that can be manipulated to maximise storage through the cabin front to back, and potentially height wise to be in keeping with traditional kei car characteristics.
Electric windows feature for all main windows, while there’s also a sunglasses holder where the driver’s grab handle would be.
BYD Racco Technical specifications
The Racco measures 3,395mm long, 1,475mm wide, and 1,800mm tall, and is powered by a single 20kW electric motor mounted on the front axle.
It will make use of a lithium iron phosphate battery manufactured by BYD subsidiary FinDreams, delivering 180km of range on the WLTC cycle with DC fast charging capability up to 100kW.
BYD plans to price the Racco at approximately 2.5 million yen, positioning it competitively within Japan’s kei car segment, and is targeting the summer or autumn of 2026 for market entry, allowing BYD to establish its presence in a segment that sold 1,667,360 units last year, with the Honda N-Box leading sales.
The Racco represents BYD’s strategy to penetrate Japan’s highly regulated kei car market, which requires vehicles to meet strict dimensional and engine displacement limits while offering practical urban transportation solutions.
Arguably, it’s a demonstration of the brand’s current confidence levels and dedication to becoming an international player, with Japan’s kei car market populated almost entirely by homegrown brands, and relations between China and Japan still somewhat tense after recent elections.
It’s unclear whether other right-hand drive markets may be able to order the Racco, such as the UK and Australia, but it’s not expected this will be the case from launch.
