BYD Racco launched in Japan – 64 PS electric kei car, up to 320 km WLTC; undercuts Japanese rivals from RM54k

BYD has revealed pricing for the Racco, its electric kei car that takes on offerings from brands like Honda, Mitsubishi and Nissan that are very familiar with this vehicle class. As reported previously, the Racco will be offered in three variants, including the base 200, mid-range 300 Plus and top-spec 300 Premium.

All three feature the same front electric motor rated at 64 PS (63 hp or 47 kW) and 160 Nm of torque, the former being the limit as per the country’s kei car regulations. Also shared is the 224 electrical system, with the primary difference between the variants being the energy capacity of the battery pack.

For 2.145 million yen (about RM54k), the entry-level 200 comes with a 22.4-kWh unit that provides up to 210 km of range following the WLTC standard. Meanwhile, the 300 Plus and 300 Premium at 2.398 million and 2.497 million yen (RM60k and RM62k) respectively come with a 35.84-kWh pack for up to 320 km.

Given its use case, BYD is only stating the 0-50 km/h time for the Racco, which is 4.2 seconds for the 200 and 4.4 seconds for the ‘300’ pair – the latter weighs between 60-70 kg more than the base variant’s 1,160 kg.

Charging power is nothing too crazy either, with the 200 supporting an AC input (Type 1) of just three kW while DC (via a CHAdeMO plug) peaks at 35.8 kW. It’s slightly higher for the ‘300’ variants that can handle six kW AC and 49.7 kW DC. The Racco comes with vehicle-to-load (V2L) and vehicle-to-home (V2H) systems, the latter enabling it to provide power to a home in the event or emergencies.

In keeping with kei car rules, the Racco measures 3,395 mm long, 1,475 mm wide, 1,800 mm tall and it has a wheelbase of 2,520 mm. The compact electric vehicle (EV) comes with 15-inch wheels that are either steelies with wheel covers (200) or aluminium alloys (‘300’ variants) and power-sliding rear doors.

As for other items on the kit list, all variants share features like a seven-inch digital instrument cluster, a 10.1-inch touchscreen infotainment system, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay support, LED lighting, keyless entry and start, selectable drive modes (Sport, Normal Eco and Snow) as well as automatic air-conditioning.

The ‘300’ variants get exclusive items like synthetic leather seat upholstery, a powered driver’s seat, additional storage spaces, a fold-out table on the front seatbacks, a rear centre armrest, illuminated vanity mirrors, six speakers instead of two, front fog lamps and digital NFC key support.

On the safety and driver assistance front, the Racco range comes standard with six airbags, front and rear parking sensors, the usual array of passive systems (ESC, VDC, EBD, ABS, etc.), hill start assist, ISOFIX child seat anchors, adaptive cruise control, lead vehicle departure alert, lane departure warning and prevention, forward collision warning, traffic sign recognition, driver monitoring, high beam assist, speed limit assist and pedal misapplication prevention. A tyre pressure monitoring system is only for the ‘300’ variants.

Exterior colour options for the Racco include Arctic White, Cheese Yellow, Cosmos Black, Arctic Blue, Midnight Green and Ruby Red, with the interior available in either black or a combination of black and beige.

Looking at the competition, the Racco’s starting price undercuts comparable rivals like the Honda N-One e: (from 2,699,400 yen or RM67k), Mitsubishi eK X EV (from 2.662 million yen or RM66k) and Nissan Sakura (from 2,448,600 yen or RM61k).

GALLERY: BYD Racco

GALLERY: BYD Racco at Japan Mobility Show 2025