INTERVIEW: BYD looks to crack Japan's minivehicle market with ultracompact EV

TOKYO - China's BYD Co., the world's leading electric vehicle maker, has begun a foray into one of the most competitive segments of the shrinking Japanese auto market, rolling out a new ultracompact EV to compete with engine-powered minivehicles.

The automaker on Tuesday launched the Racco, a boxy small EV with sliding rear doors on both sides that was developed specifically for Japanese customers with a base price of around 2.15 million yen ($13,000).