The top 10 finalists for the 2026-2027 Japan Car of the Year (JCOTY) have been announced, which includes BYD’s kei car called Racco. This is the second time that BYD has managed to be included in the top 10 finalists for the JCOTY, as the Seal was also among the finalists during the 2024-2025 edition.
The JCOTY is regarded as a prestigious award in the automotive industry. The 10 best cars or finalists were selected from 33 nominated cars that were based on votes from a selection committee of 58 automotive critics and journalists. Aside from the BYD Racco, the other finalists for the 2026-2027 JCOTY are the following:
– Suzuki e SKY
– Toyota RAV4
– Nissan Elgrand
– Nissan Kicks
– Honda Super-ONE
– Mazda CX-5
– BMW iX3
– Kia PV5
– Volvo ES90
The list is dominated by vehicles from Japanese car brands, making the Racco the only vehicle that hails from the People’s Republic of China. The same goes for the Kia PV5, which is the only vehicle from South Korea.
The BYD Racco was developed specifically for Japan, where the kei-car category places strict limits on vehicle dimensions and power. Rather than adapting an existing BYD model, the company created the Racco around those constraints, resulting in a compact electric vehicle designed for dense urban driving.
The Racco is looking to be not a Japan-exclusive model, as BYD announced that it will sell the Racco in other markets. BYD previously said that it is initially targeting right-hand-drive markets. In Japan, the Racco is offered with either a 22.4-kWh or 35.84-kWh battery, depending on the variant. Official figures put the maximum WLTC range at 210 kilometers for the smaller battery and 320 kilometers for the larger one. The car uses a 47-kW electric motor.
The JCOTY committee will be conducting another round of the selection process to be held on November 18, while the announcement of the 2026-2027 JCOTY will be on December 3. The final selection and awarding ceremony will be live-streamed on JCOTY’s official YouTube Channel.
Autocar’s Take
BYD has once again managed to be included in the top 10 cars or finalists in the Japan Car of the Year, proving that it can go for a slugfest with legacy Japanese brands such as Suzuki, Toyota, Nissan, and Mazda. This also shows that Chinese car brands, such as BYD, have improved their products’ build quality. A case in point is BYD, which has earned the nod of the JCOTY committee for the second time. Before the Racco, the BYD Seal was among the top 10 finalists during the 2024-2025 JCOTY.
