Suzuki's New e SKY Mini EV Undercuts BYD's Racco — With BYD's Own Batteries

Suzuki is stepping into Japan’s electric kei car arena with the e SKY, its first battery-electric mini vehicle, and it’s arriving with a price tag that edges past the segment’s current champion. According to Nikkei, the e SKY will launch on November 16 carrying a starting figure of roughly 2.12 million yen — about $13,500 — which would make it the least expensive EV in its class and slide it just beneath BYD's Racco at 2.145 million yen ($13,600).

The twist is who’s supplying the cells. Suzuki opted for lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries from BYD’s battery arm, a cost-focused chemistry choice that helps the Japanese automaker hit its aggressive pricing target. Rather than adapting an existing architecture, Suzuki built a dedicated kei EV platform and electric drive system specifically for the e SKY. The result, per the company, is a WLTC range of up to 310 km (192 miles) and a class-leading AC energy consumption figure of 97 Wh/km.

Subsidies could reshape the math further. Japan’s government has not yet confirmed whether the e SKY will qualify, but if it earns the same 568,000 yen incentive granted to Suzuki’s commercial e-Every kei EV, the e SKY’s effective cost would land close to that of the Spacia — Suzuki’s best-selling gasoline kei car, which starts at 1.53 million yen (just under $10,000). That would put an electric option nearly on par with a combustion one in Suzuki’s own showroom.

The competitive picture shows how tight this segment has become. BYD’s entry-level Racco 200 carries a 22.4 kWh LFP pack good for 210 km (130 miles) of WLTC range, while the pricier Racco 300 Plus and 300 Premium trims step up to a 35.84 kWh battery delivering up to 320 km (199 miles) — a figure BYD touted as the first kei EV to clear the 300 km mark. Both the Racco and the incoming e SKY undercut Nissan’s Sakura, which opens at 2,448,600 yen (about $15,000), while offering more range.

BYD has set a target of 10,000 Racco sales before the end of 2026, and the model drew 1,000 orders within its first two weeks on sale. The Chinese automaker’s Japanese arm also marked a milestone this week, reaching 10,000 cumulative domestic registrations. Suzuki’s arrival with a cheaper, longer-range kei EV — even one riding on BYD cells — sets up a direct head-to-head in a category where price sensitivity is extreme and every yen of subsidy matters.