BYD has launched its first kei EV for the Japanese market, the RACCO, announced at an effective price of ¥1.99 million. Meanwhile, BYD Japan President Liu Xueliang (劉学亮) denied that the company had poached Japanese engineers.
BYD has officially launched the RACCO kei EV for the Japanese market. The vehicle has a range of 320 kilometers on a full charge and comes with features designed around life in Japan, including a tray to catch rainwater from umbrellas. Development was led by Chinese engineers who had never lived in Japan, with designs tailored to the Japanese market, including a motor for steep inclines and fine-tuned ride-height adjustment. These features are said to have emerged from observing the concerns of people living in Japan.
Regarding claims that Japanese engineers had been poached, BYD JAPAN President Liu Xueliang (劉学亮) called them “a complete misunderstanding.” One engineer from Nissan is currently on staff, but he joined after the vehicle was almost fully assembled. Liu explained that the core of the RACCO was developed from scratch by young Chinese engineers, not Japanese engineers.