BYD will unveil the light EV at the Japan Mobility Show in less than a week. With its big debut just days away, China’s EV giant offered a sneak peek at its first electric kei car.
BYD is launching its first light EV in Japan
If you’re not familiar with kei cars, they are the tiny vehicles roaming the streets of Japan. Kei cars are the smallest street-legal vehicles and one of the most popular choices among drivers in Japan.
Japanese automakers like Honda, Nissan, and Suzuki rely on them for a good chunk of domestic sales. Last year, around 1.55 million kei cars were sold in Japan, or about 40% of new vehicle sales. The Honda N-Box was the most popular model for the third year in a row.
BYD will take its first crack at the market as it seeks to break into Japan, which has historically been brutal to foreign auto brands.
We will get our first look at the electric kei car in less than a week. In the meantime, BYD previewed the light EV for the first time, revealing a boxy-looking profile typical of kei cars.
To be classified as a kei car, the vehicle must be under 3.4 meters (134″) in length. BYD’s smallest EV, the Seagull, is 3.78 meters (148.8″) long.
The preview confirms the design we’ve seen on camouflaged prototypes testing over the past few months. In July, a right-hand-drive model was spotted, suggesting it could launch outside of Japan, in places like the UK or Southeast Asia.
According to local reports, BYD is developing a new platform from scratch to underpin the light EV. It’s expected to be available with a 20 kWh battery, offering about 180 km (112 miles) of WLTC range.
To keep costs down, BYD will likely equip the vehicle with its Blade LFP batteries. Prices and official specs will be revealed closer to launch, but the electric kei car is expected to start at around 2.5 million yen ($18,000). That would put it on par with the Nissan Sakura, the best-selling EV in Japan last year.
Japanese automakers are reportedly already preparing for BYD’s light EV to arrive. A Suzuki dealer said that “It would be a huge threat if the company launches cheap models in Japan,” according to a Nikkei report from earlier this year.
Can BYD’s light EV compete in Japan with Honda, Nissan, Toyota, and others? Honda launched its first electric kei car, the N-ONE, last month. The N-ONE starts at 2.7 million yen ($18,300) and Honda believes it could be an even bigger hit than the N-Box.
The Japan Mobility Show 2025 kicks off on October 30, but press days start on October 29. Be sure to check back for the official reveal next week.
