Thread 28704310

Can it compete with Japan's domestic Kei cars?
https://cleantechnica.com/2025/11/04/chinas-direct-assault-on-japans-most-domestic-automotive-segment/

>>28704310 (OP)
Not in Japan. maybe australia because we're flooded by cheap chinese crapboxes

>>28704310 (OP)
not on 4chins. only kawaii nipmobiles get a pass around here.

>>28705397
>Not in Japan
Why?

>>28705545
Racism

>>28705825
I think that racism is the only thing that saves domestic companies. The only danger is foreign workers like indians that may start to buy foreign cars because cheap.

>20kWh
>63HP engine
>Keitasha tax excepts and fee reductions
The Hybrid is most likely far more interesting, but like the Nissan Sakura i can see it being au ultimate beater commuter vehicle.

That said, I really really like the Kei car doors. I would wish they would port them to more useful models like the Firebird of the Seagull.

>>28704310 (OP)
>Can it compete with Japan's domestic Kei cars?
But why? It's a Japan-specific car market. The reason that market is untouchable is because kei-cars don't make sense to sell new outside of Japan.

What's next? BYD Tuk-tuk for India?

>>28706004
Don't you want the 40% of the new car sales in Japan anon? That is a big pie.
And its a bigger pie if it leads to further technology sales down the line.

>>28706004
>Japan-specific car market
That's a huge market though and still essentially free from foreign competition.
"Racco" is the Japanese word for "otter" so it's clear that BYD has no intention of selling it outside Japan.
Also, there's a significant Chinese population in Japan.

>>28704310 (OP)
There is a singular N-Box model in their path. Mind you, japs themselves can't outcompete it.

>>28704310 (OP)
Probably not. Every single one of the top-selling kei cars, such as the Honda N-Box, Daihatsu Tanto and Suzuki Spacia are all not EVs, and offer no EV option. Most do have optional or standard turbo models, however. A few are hybrids, even.
There have also been domestically-produced kei-EVs in Japan for a couple years now, such as the Mitsubishi eK X EV and Nissan Sakura. I might just be some gaijin fuck posting on here, but I don't see those models topping any of the sales charts for kei cars in Japan - which leads me to believe demand might not be all that high.

>>28706698
>which leads me to believe demand might not be all that high.
Why wouldn't it?
Reason out the argument, and there is a genuine chance you might just stop at "insufficient mileage to allow the car decent use" or price.

The question is then going to remain: Is 180km + 100kWh fast charging going to cut it?

>>28706746
Kei cars have like 3l/100km gas mileage, theres literally no compelling reason to go electric in a kei car sector, especially considering how japanese tend to sell their cars after 2-3 years of usage and don't really rack up their mileage.

>>28706996
And more normal cars are in the 5-6l/100km range. And in those ranges its still a option to buy a Tesla if you are planning on hitting 150k-200k km in its lifespan, or more.
And I have seen A LOT of eGolf, Zoe and iMIEV as mileage beaters here, so I don't see why it would be different in Japan.

In fact, its very different in Japan, because once you got Kei cars with decent interiors, its not very tempting to buy the slightly larger Honda Fit which is harder to get in and out of.
The question then remains:
Is this being built just to see if there is a market for it, or it being built to get going a factory line in case battery density is going to increase, meaning it could be a viable vehicle platform in 10-20 years?
If the Sodium Ion actually materializes for commercial use, it would not be far fetched to see the Facelifted china otter with 300km.