BYD held a business policy presentation in Tokyo. The main points of the presentation were as follows
The Sea Lion 7, the fourth passenger car to be introduced in Japan, will go on sale in April.
The company plans to launch a PHEV by the end of the year.
Delivery of J7, a medium-sized EV bus, will start within this year.
Introduction of EV trucks in Japan in 2026 or later
Sea Lion 7 is the fourth EV to be sold in Japan and is a crossover SUV that shares chassis, battery, and other components with the already introduced SEAL (EV sedan). The body size is 4830mm x 1925mm x 1620mm, and the wheelbase is 2930mm. 308ps/380Nm motors are installed in the rear wheels for RWD models, in addition to 215ps/310Nm motors in the front wheels for AWD models. 82.5kWh lithium iron phosphate ion battery with a capacity of 82.5 kWh has a low possibility of ignition even in nail-piercing tests, and its high safety level is a key point of appeal. The one-charge cruising range is 590km for the RWD model and 540km for the AWD model (planned values).
Since BYD announced the passenger car for Japan in 2022, cumulative sales have totaled approximately 4,000 units. Last year, 2,223 units were sold, marking a 58% increase over the previous year. Atsuki Tofukuji, president of BYD Auto Japan, who described the company’s transition from the start-up phase to the growth phase, said that the company intends to increase the number of sales outlets to 100 by the end of this year (the current 59 outlets) and, after the PHEV launch by the end of this year, to have a lineup of 7 to 8 models by around 2027. He said, “We will carefully consider the price range and lineup that will allow EVs and PHEVs to be separated “.
Commercial vehicles were introduced to Japan earlier than passenger cars, and 10 years after the first EV buses were introduced, 350 are currently in use in Japan. In addition to the K8, a large EV bus, and the J6, a small EV bus designed for the Japanese market, the J7, a new medium-sized EV bus (maximum capacity: 61 passengers) was also unveiled. This bus, also designed for the Japanese market, is equipped with a 192.5 kWh lithium-ion iron phosphate battery and in-wheel motor in an 8990 mm x 2300 mm x 3255 mm body, and is CHAdeMO compatible, marking a cruising range of approximately 250 km per charge. The price without tax is 36.5 million yen.
Incidentally, BYD’s commercial vehicles are sold in about 70 countries and regions, with cumulative sales reaching 127,000 units. In addition, 1,700 of the familiar red London buses in the United Kingdom are currently BYD EV buses.
In 2024, BYD’s global sales volume was 4.27 million units, up 41.26% from the previous year, of which 21,775 were commercial vehicles. BEVs and PHEVs accounted for 41.5% and 58.5% of the total, respectively. In addition, the cumulative production of new energy vehicles (BEVs and PHEVs) exceeded 10 million units in 2024.
Liu Gue Liang, president of BYD Japan, looking back on the company’s arrival in Japan 20 years ago as a rechargeable battery brand and subsequent business development, including the introduction of EV buses, said, “I would like to express my deep appreciation to those who have believed in (our products) and patronized them,” “I would like to thank those who have encouraged and cooperated with us,” and “I would like to express my gratitude to all of you. I would like to thank all those who have encouraged and cooperated with us,” he repeated these words of gratitude many times during his speech.
Regarding the launch of the PHEV in Japan, President Liu said, “We decided to introduce the PHEV in consideration of the feedback from dealers and others. We decided to introduce the PHEV in consideration of the feedback from dealers and others.
BYD Auto Japan is running the ATTO3 Chinese New Year Present Campaign” until February 4 (Tue.), and one lucky winner will win a ski white ATTO3.
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