JMS 2025: BYD Racco Unveiled as Brand’s First EV Kei Car with 180 km Range

BYD’s new Racco EV kei car makes its official unveiling at the Tokyo Motor Show, featuring up to 180 km of range.

BYD has launched its first-ever kei car model, the BYD Racco, in a direct challenge to Japanese automakers. And what better way to debut your new EV kei car than by unveiling it deep within the enemy’s territory, specifically at the ongoing Japan Mobility Show (JMS) 2025.

Thanks to these early images from Headlightmag.com, we can see that the Racco does get the same quintessential kei car design bits. For starters, it features a pretty short front hood design with an equally short front overhang, plus an upright front windscreen and a near-vertical rear end that give it the typical boxy kei car look.

Some key specific design bits primed here include C-shaped LED lighting units on both ends, a clean front grille design with the BYD badge at the centre, sliding doors, and 15-inch multi-spoke alloy wheels with disc brakes fitted on all four wheels.

While it is impossible to tell how big the Racco is from these images, we reckon BYD would’ve managed to get it to comply with the kei car regulations, which cap the dimensions at 3,400 mm long, 1,480 mm wide, and up to 2,000 mm tall.

In terms of powertrain, CarNewsChina reported that the Racco will feature an all-electric powertrain setup, juiced by a small 20-kWh battery pack that can provide an estimated WLTC range of 180 km. Not to forget, this EV kei car is also said to be able to support up to 100 kW of DC fast charging, which means its tiny battery pack can be theoretically charged in a relatively short time.

Set to enter the Japanese market later in 2026, the all-new BYD Racco is set to be priced around JPY 2.6 million (RM71,695), thus putting it on par with other popular Japanese kei EVs, such as the Honda N-One e:, Nissan Sakura, and many more. That said, there is no news on whether the Racco will be sold in other overseas markets outside of Japan, similar to how most Japanese kei cars are only reserved for the Japanese domestic market consumption.

Prior to the Racco, BYD had already sold some of its EVs in Japan, which include global models like the Atto 3, Dolphin, Seal, and Sealion 7.

Photo credit: Headlightmag.com