Suzuki undercuts BYD with a $13,500 mini EV powered by BYD batteries — SkimNews
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- Suzuki's e SKY, the automaker's first electric kei car, is set to launch November 16 at approximately 2.12 million yen (~$13,500), a price reported by Nikkei that would make it Japan's lowest-priced mini EV.
- Suzuki sourced LFP batteries from BYD's battery unit to cut costs, with the e SKY delivering a WLTC range of up to 310 km (192 miles) and a 'class-leading' AC energy consumption of 97 Wh/km.
- BYD's Racco currently holds the cheap-EV title at 2.145 million yen (~$13,600); BYD Japan hit 10,000 cumulative domestic registrations on Monday and targets 10,000 Racco sales by end of 2026, having logged 1,000 orders in its first two weeks.
- If the e SKY qualifies for the same 568,000 yen subsidy as Suzuki's commercial e-Every, its effective price would fall to roughly 1.53 million yen—matching the gas-powered Spacia, Suzuki's best-selling kei car.
- Nissan Sakura remains the priciest of the three at ¥2,448,600 (~$15,000) and offers a shorter range than both the e SKY and the Racco, per the source's comparison.
- BYD beat Suzuki to the kei-EV threshold by also offering a 35.84 kWh Racco 300 with up to 320 km of range, making it the first kei EV to cross 300 km before Suzuki's November launch.
Why it matters: Suzuki is using BYD's own LFP battery cells to price below BYD's Racco—a rival's batteries becoming the cost lever that squeezes that same rival in Japan's kei EV class. With BYD at 10,000 Japanese registrations and a 10,000-unit Racco target by end-2026, Suzuki's November 16 launch directly challenges China's fastest-growing Japan entrant using its own supply chain.
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