BYD Hires Former Nissan Engineer to Break into Japan’s Electric Vehicle Market

TOKYO — BYD has recruited former Nissan engineer Hirohide Tagawa to strengthen the development of its compact electric car, the Racco, prepared specifically for the Japanese market. Tagawa is an experienced figure in the kei car segment (K-Car) in Japan. He has been involved in the development of Nissan Dayz and Nissan Sakura, the compact electric car that is quite popular in Japan. Racco is BYD’s strategic model to enter the K-Car segment, a category of compact vehicles highly popular in Japan. However, this segment also has strict rules regarding vehicle dimensions, power, and tax regulations, so its development requires a special approach. Tagawa is said to have worked at Nissan for around 25 to 30 years dating from the 1990s. During his career, he was known as one of the key figures in Nissan’s light-car development strategy. In addition to involvement in the Nissan Dayz project, Tagawa also helped develop the Nissan Sakura, which launched in 2022 as one of Japan’s mass-market K-Car electric vehicles. Tagawa’s arrival is seen as an important move for BYD, given that K-Car development in Japan is known to be quite complex. BYD must, on the one hand, maximise cabin efficiency, cost structure, and meet tight regulatory requirements, without compromising comfort for urban use. BYD’s Racco is designed as a compact electric car tailored specifically for Japanese consumer needs. Racco is equipped with a 20 kWh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery, offering a range of around 180 kilometres according to the WLTC standard. To support mobility in Japan’s big cities, the car is said to feature rear sliding doors and a tall body design to be more practical when driving on narrow roads or in limited parking areas. Earlier, BYD was also reported to price the Racco starting at 2.5 million yen, or around Rp 280 million.