Well, BYD did it. The Chinese automotive juggernaut has officially thrown its name into Japan's kei car segment with the fully electric BYD Racco -- or Sea Otter, in English.
The Sea Otter's full specs have yet to be released, but BYD has confirmed that a long-range variant will accompany the standard, or base, offering. If we were to make an educated guess, standard driving range should be rated at about 300km -- akin to the Seagull's performance. Other markets have a more premium version of the Seagull available, and that gets around 380km of range, which could be what the long-range variant packs.
PHOTO BY BYD Japan Facebook Page
Performance aside, the Sea Otter definitely looks the part, donning a tall, boxy frame with sliding doors on both sides. Specifically, the Chinese kei car comes in at 3,395mm long, 1,475mm wide, and 1,800mm tall. That places it around 400mm shorter than the Seagull, but over 200mm taller.
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Inside, the cabin seats four passengers, and that's about all we know. BYD has not shared any information about the car's cargo and weight capacities, or its configurability. Other reports have the Sea Otter packed with a barely road-legal 20kWh battery, which should be good for just 180km. We'll know more once this model starts rolling off the production line.
BYD had also launched the Sealion 6 DM-i and Atto 3 at the 2025 Japan Mobility Show. It looks like the Chinese brand is attempting to hit the Japanese automarket on all fronts, with a comprehensive lineup of fully electric and hybrid vehicles.
PHOTO BY BYD
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