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The story
Nikkei reports that Suzuki’s kei-class EV “e Sky,” launching in November, will start at ¥2.12 million. That makes it the cheapest kei EV sold in Japan, undercutting the same grade of BYD’s “Racco,” which launched in July, by about ¥20,000. On the thread, the view that it looks “cheap” drew repeated pushback that “being cheap is the point,” and the discussion spread to practical matters beyond price — use in snowy regions, whether buyers have home charging, and the risk of battery degradation and resale value decline.
Suzuki’s kei-class electric vehicle “e Sky,” set to launch in November, is expected to be priced from ¥2.12 million. That makes it the cheapest kei EV sold in Japan, undercutting the “Racco,” launched in July by China’s BYD. The move aims to stimulate demand in Japan’s EV market, which has lagged behind other countries in adoption.
The e Sky is Suzuki’s first kei-class passenger EV. Three grades will be offered, differing in equipment. The entry-level grade will be priced at ¥2.12 million, about ¥20,000 less than the equivalent Racco grade. The mid-tier grade…(continues in the paid edition — 541 characters remaining)
Nikkei, October 6, 2026, 5:00 AM
Source: nikkei.com / Original article here
What people said
That's exactly the point — since when does a kei car need to look luxurious? lol
What a pain in the ass.
"It's not cheap-looking, it's just cheap."
Guess you want me to say "it's not cheap-looking, it's just cheap"?
Apparently the president actually said that though…
are the ones trashing this Suzuki.
Wonder if next year will finally be "Year One of EVs."
Re: #15
Makes me wonder — will the people who've been bashing EVs purely out of hatred for China
now turn around and bash this one too?
People in snow country are too scared to drive an EV.
A lot of people in snow country drive Subarus.
If I lived in snow country I'd want a 4WD Subaru too.
For snow country, just drive an Outlander PHEV with S-AWC.
Though a decent grade starts at ¥6 million.
it's not selling because it's cheap.
Small and mid-size companies buy them.
But it's not selling in big numbers.
Not many people appreciate a car that doesn't look expensive just because it's well-equipped for the price.
People were saying the exact same thing 10 years ago lol, "Year One of EVs."
EVs have started to beat gas cars on cost, so now
they're becoming an option for ordinary people too.
Re: #48
https://carview.yahoo.co.jp/news/detail/dc69791d8939982063a732545f59ae9883928ca1/
> In that it's a passenger EV Suzuki itself produces domestically (planned for the Kosai plant), this is set to be an epoch-making model.
Maybe there's a "buy-Japanese" (jp) crowd for it.
If anything, Suzuki — which can build things cheaply — might be perfect for EVs.
isn't delivering cars.
Maybe it's because the Japan-spec version has low production volume.
I don't think the Japan-spec version has anything to do with it.
— why a kei-class EV?
Because out in the countryside it'll be a second car moms drive around for everyday errands.
Gas stations are disappearing in dying rural villages, so a cheap kei EV might actually sell pretty well there.
The Solio is a good car too, you know.
Kind of want this.
The fire truck in the second pic is cute.
It's charming how the fire department emblem is just reused from a full-size fire truck, so it ends up looking way oversized.
I'd cry if this showed up to rescue me from a fire.
Oh, a Toyota COMS. I've been looking into getting something that light myself, but
it's pretty overpriced for what it is. I already have a minivan and a kei van, so driving is a hassle,
but when I need to pop out somewhere that's inconvenient to reach by train or bus, I feel like I want one of those
tiny four-wheelers.
Yeah, true, that angle bothers me too.
Personally I dislike the Chinese Communist Party, but separate from that, I'm still in the "EVs aren't viable yet" camp.
The big reason is how hard it is to build out the infrastructure.
As a city commuter car, I think the Racco and this one are just barely acceptable, but
even so, compared to a gas-powered kei car, the only advantage is how it makes you feel, so I think it's a tough sell.
As a guy who rides a 125cc scooter,
rainy days, winter, and midsummer are brutal.
Sounds like you'd go bald from the heat and sweat under your helmet (´;ω;｀)
Yeah, it'd be good as a replacement for that, but
I don't think it's worth twice the price of a gas-powered kei car.
Feels like it'd really pay off for a house with solar panels.
People living in condos or apartments basically can't buy one in the first place.
Makes you wonder how they handle it in China, where it's nothing but apartment complexes.
It's no different from a gas car.
If the charge runs low, you just go to a charging station.
Factoring that in, gas cars still seem like the better deal.
If I were buying an EV, I'd wait until around 2030.
I don't think EVs with lithium iron phosphate batteries like the Racco or e Sky will lose that much value.
The battery should easily last more than 10 years.
Honda's and Nissan's nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) batteries degrade more, though.
When you consider the whole cycle from buying to trading in,
EVs still just aren't worth it yet.
As a basic rule of thumb, Japanese cars
lose more than half their value the instant they're sold.
Context and Key Debates on This Topic
The e Sky is Suzuki’s first passenger kei EV, putting it in direct price competition with BYD’s “Racco,” launched in July 2026. A point raised on the thread — that lithium iron phosphate batteries degrade less and hold their value better on resale than the nickel-manganese-cobalt batteries used by Honda and Nissan — fills in an often-overlooked technical detail: resale value varies depending on battery chemistry. Meanwhile, the pushback against the “it looks cheap” criticism stems from a difference in premise: kei cars have always prioritized a low price over lavish equipment. Concerns about home-charging access and practicality in snowy regions also run deep, so whether the low price alone is enough to drive demand will come down to actual sales results.
*This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (News Flash+) thread “[Kei EV] Suzuki’s “e Sky,” Japan’s Cheapest at ¥2.12 Million — Range Beats BYD.”
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