Chinese electric vehicle powerhouse BYD is betting that its new Racco electric minicar will be a hit in Japanese communities outside the largest cities.
In the city of Kanazawa on July 30, two days after the Racco’s launch in Japan, a stream of people came to a BYD dealership to test-drive the kei minicar despite it being a weekday.
“It looks like a kei car, but the quality of the drive is like that of the Vellfire,” a 52-year-old resident said, referring to a Toyota Motor luxury minivan. “I was surprised by the solid feel and lack of vibration, so much that it’s hard to believe it’s a kei car.”
Almost no one who came to the dealership, BYD Auto Kanazawa, compared the Racco with the Sakura, a Nissan Motor electric vehicle, according to an official with the shop’s operator, EV Hokuriku. Most were deciding between the Racco and a kei gasoline car, the official said.
Five or six customers had already decided to purchase the Racco, and the test drives were expected to add to this, according to an EV Hokuriku official. 30 sets of customers had visited the shop as of July 30, and the ensuing weekend was fully booked for sales appointments and test drives.
