BYD's Japanese specialty car breaks into the homeland of Japanese cars! BYD Sea Otter goes on sale starting at 88,800 yuan.

Today, BYD's pure electric K-Car "RACCO" (Sea Otter), specifically designed for the Japanese market, was officially launched in Japan. Three trim levels are available, priced between 2.145 million and 2.497 million yen (approximately RMB 88,800 to 103,300).

The three trims are: entry-level 200, with a range of 210 km, priced at 2.145 million yen; mid-range 300 Plus, with a range of 320 km, priced at 2.398 million yen; top-tier 300 Premium, with a range of 320 km, priced at 2.497 million yen.

All trims offer 6 body colors, with the top-tier trim exclusively featuring Ruby Red paint and premium synthetic leather seats.

The Sea Otter is strictly developed according to Japanese K-Car regulations, with dimensions of 3395 x 1475 x 1800mm, a wheelbase of 2490mm, right-hand drive layout, four-seat design, and a column shifter mechanism.

The boxy design with short front and rear overhangs gives a wheelbase-to-length ratio exceeding 65%. The rear seats are equipped with electric sliding doors, a rare feature in its class.

Two battery versions are available, with 22.4kWh and 35.84kWh LFP blade batteries, and the 320 km range variant makes it the first Japanese light-duty EV to break the 300 km barrier.

In addition to 50kW fast charging, the vehicle supports V2L and V2H external power discharge functions, which can provide emergency power for households during typhoons and other disasters.

Looking at the Sea Otter in the Japanese K-Car market, this pricing and configuration are extremely competitive.

The Japanese light-duty EV market is currently dominated by the Nissan Sakura and Mitsubishi eK X EV, a pair of "twin cars." They feature 20kWh battery packs, a WLTC range of 180 km, max power of 63 hp, and price ranges of 2.333 to 2.94 million yen and 2.398 to 2.933 million yen, respectively.

The Sea Otter's entry-level trim is about 190,000 yen cheaper than the Sakura's starting price, with 30 km more range. Compared to the similarly priced mid-range eK X EV, the Sea Otter 300 Plus offers 140 km more range and significantly higher fast charging power.

On the gasoline K-Car front, Japan's best-selling model, the Honda N-Box, starts at about 1.739 million yen, featuring a 660cc naturally aspirated engine. In 2025, it sold over 200,000 units, topping Japan's best-selling models for four consecutive years.

The N-Box's advantages lie in its mature hybrid system and extremely low running costs. However, the Sea Otter differentiates itself in terms of intelligence and charging ecosystem, with features like a floating center console screen, NFC key, and foot-sensing sliding doors that are almost unheard of in traditional K-Cars.

BYD previously stated: "About 90% of the Sea Otter's components are self-produced by us. By completely eliminating intermediary costs, we can achieve a reasonable price while maintaining high quality."

From another perspective, if this BYD K-Car, specifically designed for the Japanese market, can snatch orders from Honda and Nissan on their home turf, it would serve as a quality endorsement for Chinese-made cars going global, as validated by Japanese users.