An early drive finds the $13,000 BYD Racco roomy, comfortable and remarkably well suited to Japanese roads.
It’s the first ground-up, mainstream kei passenger car developed by an overseas automaker.
It matches the Nissan Sakura’s power, but with less torque, yet offers up to 199 miles of range, versus the Nissan’s 112 miles.
Chinese automakers typically enter foreign markets trying to overwhelm rivals with their cars’ power, tech, and range. But BYD couldn’t use that playbook with the Racco because Japan’s kei-car rules tightly restrict dimensions and power output, forcing BYD to try to win through packaging, practicality, and attention to local tastes.
One of the first English-language drives of the Racco suggests BYD may have just pulled it off. Everything Electric APAC presenter Elliot Richards went to Himeji, Japan, where BYD lent him a Racco for the day.
