John Keells CG Auto has launched the BYD RACCO electric kei car in Sri Lanka at an introductory price of Rs. 11.45 million, and says it aims to sell 3,000 units over the next year, EconomyNext reported.

Sri Lanka is the first market outside Japan to receive the model, which debuted there in July, Hiru News reported. Both accounts say the car was unveiled simultaneously in Colombo, Kandy and Galle.

Kei cars are a Japanese category of ultra-compact vehicles built to strict dimensional limits, taking up less road and parking space.

The price gap is the story

EconomyNext sets the local price against the Japanese one, and the comparison is stark. In Japan the entry-level RACCO 200 sells for 2.145 million yen — roughly Rs. 4.5 million. The Sri Lankan introductory price is Rs. 11.45 million.

That is about two and a half times the Japanese figure for a vehicle in the same model line. EconomyNext attributes the difference to the heavy taxes imported vehicles face in Sri Lanka following currency depreciation and balance-of-payments pressure — the same tax structure this desk has reported distorting the hybrid and EV market through engine-displacement rules.

Neither filing states the exact specification sold locally, so the two prices may not describe an identical vehicle.

The segment they are aiming at

The target is the compact-car buyer who currently buys Japanese. EconomyNext reports 9,550 Suzuki Wagon-R units and 1,870 Suzuki Spacia units registered in the year to August 2026 — the volume JKCG is trying to convert.

“With RACCO, BYD is entering the KEI car segment in Sri Lanka, a category that is already very popular with Sri Lankan buyers,” said John Keells CG Auto Chief Executive Officer Charith Panditharatne.

“At its heart, RACCO is a family vehicle: it is cost-effective to own and run, yet highly specified to meet a household’s daily needs and the demands of small businesses,” he said.

Charitha Subasinghe, retail head of John Keells Holdings, said Sri Lanka is the first market outside Japan to introduce the model. Ketsu Zhang, Deputy General Manager of BYD’s Asia-Pacific Auto Sales Division, said around 15,000 BYD vehicles are now on Sri Lankan roads, making it the country’s leading electrified brand since the market reopened.

The RACCO has sold more than 1,500 units in Japan since July.

Not reported

Neither filing gives the battery capacity, range, motor output or warranty terms of the Sri Lankan specification, and neither says how long the introductory price holds or what the price becomes afterwards. Neither reports how many units JKCG has landed or the delivery lead time.

Neither account gives the exact launch date — EconomyNext filed on Monday and Hiru on Sunday, so the event itself is not precisely dated by either. Neither says how the 3,000-unit target relates to import licensing or foreign-exchange allocation, nor whether the company expects the tax treatment to change.

Sources: EconomyNext, Hiru News.