Chinese car giant BYD has finally revealed details of a small hatchback model that was spotted testing in China earlier this year and is destined to compete in Japan’s unique Kei market.
BYD revealed at the Tokyo Motor Show that the new electric hatchback would be known as the 2026 BYD Racco, which translates from Japanese to BYD āSea Otterā.
The new model shares many of its features with other BYD products but also brings in some unique styling cues not seen in the rest of the lineup.
The design is similar to that of other smaller Kei Car models in the Japanese markets, and features a boxier front and rear sections. The Sea Otter is just shy of 3.4 metres in length, 1.48 metres wide and 1.8 metre in height.
It is likely that the Racco carries 15-inch wheels, making it one of the smallest in BYDās lineup. For comparison, the smallest size on the BYD Dolphin is 16 inches.
Earlier this week, it was reported that the new BYD Kei car will be revealed at the Tokyo Motor Show, with battery pack specs on this model likely to feature a 20 kWh BYD blade battery pack, delivering up to 180 km of WLTP range.Ā
Those reports also mentioned that this pack could be charged at DC speeds of up to 100 kW which is pretty high for a city car with this small battery pack.
Given many of the Kei car models in Japan are powered by an engine with up to 660 cc of capacity, an electric variant by BYD could really help put the NEV brand on Japanese consumersā shortlist in years to come.
Last year, BYD sold 2,223 cars in Japan from its Atto 3, Seal and Dolphin models.
The Dolphinās sales have not seen the success of other Kei car models in the country like the Nissan Sakura, which saw almost 23,000 sales in 2024. That was down from 2023 when the over 37,000 of these EVs made it onto Japanās roads.
BYD is not offering its compact hatchback, the Atto 1/Seagull, in Japan. The new Kei modelĀ is expected to land in Japan during the summer of 2026, which is likely around Q2 next year.
RizĀ is the founder of carloop based in Melbourne, specialising in Australian EV data, insight reports and trends. He is a mechanical engineer who spent the first 7 years of his career building transport infrastructure before starting carloop. He has a passion for cars, particularly EVs and wants to help reduce transport emissions in Australia. He currently drives a red Tesla Model 3.