BYD eyes major charge in Japan

Electric vehicle giant BYD started selling the BYD Seal, the third EV model it introduced to Japan, at 55 authorized dealerships across the country on Tuesday.

With the aim of establishing a position for the BYD Seal as an e-sports sedan in the Japanese market, BYD Auto Japan, a subsidiary of BYD Japan specializing in passenger cars, hopes to enhance brand recognition and image with the BYD Seal as its flagship model.

The rear-wheel-drive version of the BYD Seal, priced at 5.28 million yen ($33,135), offers a cruising range of 640 kilometers on a single charge. In comparison, the all-wheel-drive version, priced at 6.05 million yen, can travel 575 km.

According to a preliminary survey conducted by BYD Auto Japan at its 55 showrooms across the country, about 100 customers expressed a desire to buy the model as soon as it becomes available. Additionally, many customers indicated that they plan to purchase the vehicle after a test drive.

Despite the high level of interest, most customers are waiting for the confirmation of subsidies before committing to a purchase, and the confirmation will not be available until the end of July. So the company anticipated that official vehicle registrations for the model will likely begin around September.

Last year, BYD launched the Atto 3 and Dolphin EV models in Japan, selling more than 2,500 units as of Thursday since the Shenzhen, Guangdong province-based EV maker opened its first Japanese dealership in Yokohama in February 2023.

"We now have three good car models in Japan to further develop our business. So we will seek to accomplish our target of establishing 100 showrooms all over Japan by the end of next year," said Atsuki Tofukuji, president of BYD Auto Japan.

Apart from completing dealership deployment, Tofukuji reiterated the plan to add at least one new model to the company's lineup in Japan every year.

By expanding the number of models introduced to Japan, BYD is trying to attract more potential customers to its showrooms to take a look at its products.

"We want to capture a broad audience by offering various EV options. Our goal is to familiarize more people with our EVs," he said.

He noted that BYD has a grand mission to contribute to cooling the Earth by 1 C in the hopes of helping mitigate climate change effects.

The Japanese government has already declared its goal to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. It also announced plans to ban sales of new gasoline-powered cars by 2035. Gradually, the current car market in Japan — the world's fourth largest market for passenger vehicles — will be shifted to more environmentally friendly products such as plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and battery electric vehicles.

"The shift is a good chance for BYD to get into the Japanese market by utilizing leading EV technology and leading battery management technologies to speed up the realization of carbon neutrality for Japanese customers," Tofukuji said.

Additionally, many Japanese customers are very keen on quality. Such picky customers will train BYD to become more quality-conscious and to be competitive against big names in the auto industry which are very quality-oriented, he said.

"BYD wishes to be at the same level as major players in the industry within a few years by selling cars in Japan and being trained by Japanese customers to make better products," he said.