FiestaST
Honorary Master
Electric One review of the Atto 2 BEV
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The BYD (EV) Thread
- Thread starter FiestaST
- Start date
notinterested
Senior Member
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Does anyone know if Denza is still coming to SA? Should have been launched by now since it was originally slated for early 2026.
wingnut771
Honorary Master
FiestaST
Honorary Master
Honda Super-N vs BYD Dolphin Surf vs Citroen e-C3 - What Car?
FiestaST
Honorary Master
FiestaST
Honorary Master
BYD’s first electric kei car is shaking up Japan
Japan's kei car segment has long been an impenetrable automotive fortress. Suzuki, Daihatsu, Honda, and Nissan have guarded this hyper-regulated, quirky micro-universe like a Holy Grail. Foreign auto execs looked at Japan's strict dimension rules, and walked away - it simply wasn't worth the effort of building a specialized box to navigate Tokyo's tightest back alleys.
But BYD never saw that memo. China's electric titan decided to do what no overseas manufacturer in history had ever dared: design a ground-up, purpose-built electric kei car named the Racco - the Japanese word for sea otter - specifically to pick the lock of Japan's most insular car market.
When BYD revealed the Racco, the entire industry raised an eyebrow. After all, foreign vehicles historically crash and burn on Japanese soil - BYD itself managed a modest 383 deliveries across Japan in July 2026. Its global machine had 411,072 sales in the same month with 179,841 units exported outside of China.
Yet, barely a fortnight after its official launch, the little otter racked up 1,002 orders. That might sound like a drop in the ocean compared to BYD's massive domestic output in China, but in the notoriously protective Japanese market, it is the fastest-selling launch BYD has ever managed.
What is driving this sudden swell of interest in a country where brand loyalty to domestic giants is practically written into law? It turns out Japanese city dwellers appreciate a good value proposition regardless of where the badge was forged. Customer survey data reveals that 35% of early buyers snapped up the Racco as an additional runabout for the household, while another 35% used it to replace an existing vehicle. First-time car buyers accounted for nearly 27% of the order books. Better yet, over 55% of those early adopters already had dedicated EV home charging installed (big head start for daily commuting duties).
To even qualify for the tax breaks and parking perks of the kei class, BYD had to engineer the Racco strictly within Japan's rigid legal tape measure. The blocky microvan measures exactly 3,395 mm long, 1,475 mm wide, and stands 1,800 mm tall, built over a 2,520 mm wheelbase. Parked nose-to-nose against its primary target - the Nissan Sakura - those dimensions tell a clever packaging story.
www.arenaev.com
Japan's kei car segment has long been an impenetrable automotive fortress. Suzuki, Daihatsu, Honda, and Nissan have guarded this hyper-regulated, quirky micro-universe like a Holy Grail. Foreign auto execs looked at Japan's strict dimension rules, and walked away - it simply wasn't worth the effort of building a specialized box to navigate Tokyo's tightest back alleys.
But BYD never saw that memo. China's electric titan decided to do what no overseas manufacturer in history had ever dared: design a ground-up, purpose-built electric kei car named the Racco - the Japanese word for sea otter - specifically to pick the lock of Japan's most insular car market.
When BYD revealed the Racco, the entire industry raised an eyebrow. After all, foreign vehicles historically crash and burn on Japanese soil - BYD itself managed a modest 383 deliveries across Japan in July 2026. Its global machine had 411,072 sales in the same month with 179,841 units exported outside of China.
Yet, barely a fortnight after its official launch, the little otter racked up 1,002 orders. That might sound like a drop in the ocean compared to BYD's massive domestic output in China, but in the notoriously protective Japanese market, it is the fastest-selling launch BYD has ever managed.
What is driving this sudden swell of interest in a country where brand loyalty to domestic giants is practically written into law? It turns out Japanese city dwellers appreciate a good value proposition regardless of where the badge was forged. Customer survey data reveals that 35% of early buyers snapped up the Racco as an additional runabout for the household, while another 35% used it to replace an existing vehicle. First-time car buyers accounted for nearly 27% of the order books. Better yet, over 55% of those early adopters already had dedicated EV home charging installed (big head start for daily commuting duties).
To even qualify for the tax breaks and parking perks of the kei class, BYD had to engineer the Racco strictly within Japan's rigid legal tape measure. The blocky microvan measures exactly 3,395 mm long, 1,475 mm wide, and stands 1,800 mm tall, built over a 2,520 mm wheelbase. Parked nose-to-nose against its primary target - the Nissan Sakura - those dimensions tell a clever packaging story.
BYD’s first electric kei car is shaking up Japan
BYD’s first electric kei car, the Racco, is making waves in Japan by offering class-leading range and high-end features at a price that challenges established automakers.
www.arenaev.com
TedLasso
Executive Member
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- Feb 23, 2016
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Cross post
Wassup my China's. I got a Chinese BYD hybrid. Holy moly. The car is actually rather good and so damn quiet on EV mode even on the highway at 120Km/h.
Yeah it cost nearly a bar, but heck , way cheaper for what it has compared to a German brand, and seems to be just as good build quality as the german cars I used to own.
Has a passenger recently, who has a current gen M5, Audi RS, Supra, and other modded cars. He was impressed by the build quality and the fact that it can do 0-100 in 5.6 secs.
Let's see if it lasts. That's the open question I still have.
Wassup my China's. I got a Chinese BYD hybrid. Holy moly. The car is actually rather good and so damn quiet on EV mode even on the highway at 120Km/h.
Yeah it cost nearly a bar, but heck , way cheaper for what it has compared to a German brand, and seems to be just as good build quality as the german cars I used to own.
Has a passenger recently, who has a current gen M5, Audi RS, Supra, and other modded cars. He was impressed by the build quality and the fact that it can do 0-100 in 5.6 secs.
Let's see if it lasts. That's the open question I still have.
FiestaST
Honorary Master
Ignition GT launch review of the Atto 8
FiestaST
Honorary Master
BYD Fangchengbao Tai 9 revealed as new Land Rover Defender rival
BYD has whipped the wraps off the Fangchengbao Tai 9, the Chinese automaker’s latest Land Rover Defender 130-rivalling SUV…
In May 2026, BYD unveiled the Fangchengbao Tai 7, a new Chinese Land Rover Defender 110 rival. Likely to be sold as the B7 under the automaker’s Denza luxury sub-brand in markets outside of China, the Tai 7 is positioned between the SA-bound Denza B5 and B8. Now, the Shenzhen brand has revealed yet another brand-new SUV, the Fangchengbao Tai 9.
The Tai 9 is positioned above the Denza B8 (or Fangchengbao Leopard 8, as it is named in its home market), which has been confirmed for SA. The Tai 9 measures 5 270 mm in length and 1 999 mm in width; making it 75 mm longer and 5 mm wider than the B8. The six-seater SUV stands up to 1 880 mm tall (model dependent), with the wheelbase spanning 3 130 mm. The Fangchengbao Tai 9 tips the scales at around 2 900 kg.
The Tai 9 employs a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) powertrain comprising a 1.5-litre, four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine and dual electric motors. The internal combustion engine (ICE) produces a net power output of 110 kW, with the electric motors producing peak outputs of 200 kW. BYD has yet to announce the combined system output of the PHEV arrangement.
BYD has whipped the wraps off the Fangchengbao Tai 9, the Chinese automaker’s latest Land Rover Defender 130-rivalling SUV…
In May 2026, BYD unveiled the Fangchengbao Tai 7, a new Chinese Land Rover Defender 110 rival. Likely to be sold as the B7 under the automaker’s Denza luxury sub-brand in markets outside of China, the Tai 7 is positioned between the SA-bound Denza B5 and B8. Now, the Shenzhen brand has revealed yet another brand-new SUV, the Fangchengbao Tai 9.
The Tai 9 is positioned above the Denza B8 (or Fangchengbao Leopard 8, as it is named in its home market), which has been confirmed for SA. The Tai 9 measures 5 270 mm in length and 1 999 mm in width; making it 75 mm longer and 5 mm wider than the B8. The six-seater SUV stands up to 1 880 mm tall (model dependent), with the wheelbase spanning 3 130 mm. The Fangchengbao Tai 9 tips the scales at around 2 900 kg.
The Tai 9 employs a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) powertrain comprising a 1.5-litre, four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine and dual electric motors. The internal combustion engine (ICE) produces a net power output of 110 kW, with the electric motors producing peak outputs of 200 kW. BYD has yet to announce the combined system output of the PHEV arrangement.
FiestaST
Honorary Master
REVIEW | BYD Dolphin Surf shows you don’t need to spend big to get a good EV
Dolphin Surf, a sub-R400,000 electric hatchback, offers useful range and capable performance
www.timeslive.co.za