BYD reveals Racco electric kei car interior

BYD has unveiled the interior design of its Racco electric kei car as the Chinese automaker prepares to enter Japan’s compact vehicle segment later this year.

The cabin reveal shows a layout designed specifically for the Japanese kei car market, featuring a gear lever positioned on a compact centre console with bench-style front seats split in a 40:60 ratio. The dashboard incorporates a 10.25-inch floating touchscreen above physical buttons and rollers for climate control, volume, driving modes and heated front seats, plus an 8-inch digital instrument cluster.

Storage solutions include a dashboard tray, glovebox, cupholder and 12V, USB-A and USB-C sockets positioned on the centre console. The front seats offer four-way adjustment, while the rear bench mirrors the front seat split configuration with 40% on the passenger side and 60% on the driver side.

The interior design maximises cabin height with tall, slim windows and quarter lights at front and rear to enhance visibility. Electric windows feature across all main windows, with a sunglasses holder positioned where the driver’s grab handle would typically be located.

Compact dimensions, competitive specifications

The Racco measures 3395mm long, 1475mm wide and 1800mm tall, powered by a single 20kW electric motor mounted on the front axle. It uses a lithium iron phosphate battery manufactured by BYD subsidiary FinDreams, delivering 180km of range on the WLTC cycle with DC fast charging capability up to 100kW.

BYD plans to price the Racco at approximately 2.5 million yen, positioning it competitively within Japan’s kei car segment. The company is targeting summer or autumn 2026 for market entry.

Strategic market entry

The Racco represents BYD’s strategy to penetrate Japan’s highly regulated kei car market, which requires vehicles to meet strict dimensional and engine displacement limits while offering practical urban transportation solutions. The segment sold 1,667,360 units last year, with the Honda N-Box leading sales.

The move demonstrates BYD’s confidence in challenging homegrown brands in a market populated almost entirely by domestic manufacturers. It also comes amid ongoing political tensions between China and Japan following recent elections.

Whether other right-hand drive markets including New Zealand, the UK and Australia may be able to order the Racco remains unclear, though this is not expected at launch. Used imports will likely be an option.