Nach einem Gespräch mit einem japanischen BYD-Fahrzeughalter habe ich erst verstanden, wie naiv wir in Bezug auf das "Vordringen in ausländische Märkte" sind.
Currently, the penetration rate of new energy vehicles in China is approaching 60%, and domestic brands have gone all out, intensifying the competition to an extreme level.
Therefore, for ambitious Chinese automakers, "going global" is no longer an option but a necessity for survival.
People expect that with more mature three - electric and intelligent technologies, as well as lower costs, Chinese automakers will have a significant advantage overseas, making it easy for them to succeed.
But is this really the case?
We can take a look at the real situation through the recent Japan Mobility Show 2025. In the home territory of Japanese automakers, looking around, BYD is still the only Chinese automaker present. This is its second time participating in the "Tokyo Motor Show".
BYD, which dominates the domestic market, seems like a novice in Japan.
Since officially entering the Japanese market in July 2022, more than three years have passed before this auto show, and BYD has sold a total of 7,123 vehicles. This figure might be insignificant in the domestic market.
However, on the other hand, the growth momentum is evident: from January to September 2025, BYD's sales in Japan reached 2,899 units, a year - on - year increase of over 66%. Especially in September, the monthly registration volume exceeded 800 units for the first time.
Therefore, BYD's performance in Japan is a microcosm of all Chinese automakers' global expansion. Every step they take overseas is far more complex and challenging than expected.
01 Japanese Automakers: No Big Surprises
After arriving in Tokyo and driving to the hotel, as someone who has long been concerned about the automotive industry, I naturally observed the cars on the road. However, the scene in front of me made me feel a bit dazed: in this megacity with a population of 37 million, the main vehicles on the street are not the various new energy vehicles that I'm used to in China, but rather compact K - cars, medium - and small - sized fuel - powered vehicles like the Camry.
Electric vehicles seem to belong to another parallel world here.
This feeling reached its peak in the parking lot of the Japan Mobility Show. A few of us searched the large parking lot back and forth several times like treasure hunters, and finally only found two BYD cars and a solitary Tesla.
A BYD car parked in the parking lot of the Tokyo International Exhibition Center | Image source: GeekPark
Behind this is a rather disparate figure. When the penetration rate of new energy vehicles in China is approaching 60%, the penetration rate of electric vehicles in Japan in September this year was only 1.7%, and there was even a decline. This is similar to the situation in China in 2016, when the penetration rate of new energy vehicles was only 1.8%. After that, the Chinese market took another four years to truly explode in 2020.
In addition to electric vehicles, another point of concern is charging piles.
Public charging piles, which are ubiquitous in large domestic cities, have become "rare animals" in Tokyo. According to BYD sales staff, there are only 13,000 charging piles in the greater Tokyo area, and there are only three or four thousand in the core 23 wards.
Without comparison, there is no harm. Shenzhen and Tokyo have similar areas, but Shenzhen has built more than 420,000 charging piles.
If the cars on the streets of Tokyo represent the past, then the Japan Mobility Show must be the gateway to the future. Two years ago, right here, Japanese giants such as Toyota and Honda publicly declared that the future of electrification belongs to them. They claimed that they would no longer lag behind Tesla and Chinese automakers and would soon "return to their rightful place".
However, the reality in 2025 has gone in another direction. Walking through the exhibition halls of the Japan Mobility Show, you will find that the spotlight still shines on fuel - powered and hybrid vehicles. The so - called electric future is still in the concept car stage.
Toyota holds a 30% share in the Japanese market and is the absolute leader in the Japanese and even global markets. Its trends are undoubtedly the vane of the entire market. This time, the Toyota Group made a high - profile appearance with its brands such as Toyota, Lexus, Century, Gazoo Racing, and Daihatsu, and its booth was very lively.
But what they are telling seems to be a story of the past: from the textile machines that Toyota started with to classic models from various eras are on display. At the same time, Toyota continues to create the legend of the Land Cruiser by launching the new Land Cruiser FJ.
However, the most eye - catching is the ultra - luxury sub - brand, Century. It was once exclusive to the Japanese royal family and top CEOs. Initially, it was powered by a V12 engine, and later by a hybrid V8 engine. Its positioning is a bit like that of Bentley and Rolls - Royce.
Regarding the future, although Toyota also displayed some concept products, their styles are a bit peculiar: there are two - wheeled vehicles, three - wheeled vehicles, trucks, and even mobile tools shaped like cockroach legs or with rotors. The most interesting is Toyota's KidsMobi concept car, which is an autonomous, blinking, bubble - shaped stroller. In the future, babies can go to and from 7 - 11 on their own.
Regarding the electrification chapter, Toyota plans to "re - export" the bZ4X produced in China back to the Japanese domestic market.
Another giant, Honda, brought two new electric concept cars. One of them will be the third model of Honda's new - generation 0 - series electric vehicles. In addition, Honda will also display a prototype of a compact electric vehicle. Meanwhile, Nissan brought its domestic N7 to this exhibition, and it is still a left - hand - drive vehicle. (In Japan, the steering wheel is on the right, while in China, it is on the left.)
Overall, Japanese domestic enterprises have not brought many surprises. They have introduced updated products and new understandings of electric vehicles, but it seems more like a routine iteration.
02 BYD, the "Max - Level Expert", Returns to the "Newbie Village"
As Chinese media, we naturally pay more attention to Chinese automakers.
BYD participated in the Japan Mobility Show for the first time in 2023. Two years later, in 2025, BYD is still the only Chinese automaker. There are only five foreign - owned brands in the entire exhibition: besides BYD, there are BMW, Mercedes - Benz, Hyundai, and Kia.
Different from what many people imagine, BYD has been deeply involved in Japan for 20 years. Initially, BYD developed its battery business in Japan, then expanded to electric buses, and now it is focusing on passenger cars.
BYD's development in Japan did not start from zero but from a negative position.
"In 2004, I represented BYD and stood in the defendant's seat in a Tokyo court," said Liu Xueliang, the general manager of BYD's Asia - Pacific Automotive Sales Division, recalling this event in an extremely calm tone. At that time, Sony and Sanyo, two of the world's top three battery giants, respectively filed patent infringement lawsuits against BYD in Japan and the United States.
This was the first major task Liu Xueliang received after joining BYD. "At that time, we couldn't even find a lawyer willing to represent us in Japan." Eventually, he convinced several "young and fearless lawyers", and in 2005, they won both lawsuits, which became an important milestone for BYD in Japan.
The Japanese market is a very interesting one. It is a strong automotive country with a 0% auto tariff, but it also strongly protects domestic brands, showing the unique closed - nature of its market from the supply - chain level. In 2024, for example, 4.42 million cars were sold in Japan in a year, and domestic brands accounted for 95%. The market share of well - known international automakers, including Mercedes - Benz, BMW, Volkswagen, and BYD, is only the remaining 5%.
After the background introduction, let's turn our attention back to the exhibition site. Compared with BYD's large - scale booths in China, this time it has two booths for passenger cars and commercial vehicles, neither of which is very large. This time, BYD has customized the K - EV BYD RACCO for the Japanese market and simultaneously launched a dual - line strategy of "pure - electric + hybrid", officially introducing its first plug - in hybrid model in the Japanese market, the Sea Lion 06DM - i.
In addition, newly upgraded pure - electric models such as the Yuan PLUS, Dolphin, and Seal were all on display, and the Yangwang U9 super - car also participated in the exhibition.
Moving to the commercial vehicle booth, BYD's layout seems more mature and in - depth. Here, there is not only the globally launched pure - electric truck T35 but also the cute pure - electric bus J6 living car concept car, as well as the medium - sized bus J7 and large - sized bus K8, which have already been in actual operation in many parts of Japan.
What will happen when BYD, the world's number one in new energy vehicle sales, enters Japan, where the electric vehicle market is just starting?
Logically, the story should be exciting. But in reality, it is often more interesting than the script. Let's look at a number: in more than three years in Japan, BYD has only sold more than 7,000 vehicles, less than the orders received by the Ocean Network in one hour.
Thankfully, since 2025, BYD's growth curve in Japan has become steeper. Especially in September, the monthly sales volume exceeded 800 units for the first time, setting a new record. The total sales volume in the first three quarters easily exceeded that of the whole of last year.
Liu Xueliang said that when they entered the Japanese market, they did not set a specific sales target internally. "Because we knew it wouldn't be very high." So, their core focus was on a more fundamental thing - building a sales network.
"Our goal is to establish 100 dealer networks in Japan by the end of 2025," he paused and added frankly, "To be honest, it's still a bit challenging to achieve this goal this year. We estimate it will be around 80. But I think that's already quite good."
BYD's store in Meguro - ku, Tokyo | Image source: GeekPark
I specifically visited BYD's store in Meguro - ku, Tokyo, which is a bit like a wealthy area in China. The store is not large and is located opposite Audi.
After entering the store, what I was most concerned about was, of course, the price. The Yuan PLUS in China is named ATTO 3 in Japan, with a starting price of 4.18 million yen, equivalent to about 193,000 yuan, almost 1.7 times the domestic price. This pricing is similar to that of local fuel - powered vehicles in the same class. This means that BYD has targeted the mainstream automotive market from the beginning.
Although Japan also has subsidies for electric vehicles, BYD doesn't benefit much. Japan's subsidy policy is linked to automakers' contributions to charging infrastructure. Tesla enjoys higher subsidies because it built a large number of charging piles in the early stage. BYD still has more room for improvement in this regard.
However, BYD has quietly taken root in Japan. Many people may not know that in the Japanese electric bus market, BYD is already the brand with the highest market share. In the domestic car market, the sales volume of its pure - electric models has exceeded that of Toyota. Now that the Dolphin (RACCO) has been launched, the subsequent data will definitely be more interesting.
Therefore, the real story of BYD in the Japanese market is not a straightforward success story but a story of continuous in - depth development and integration into the local market.
03 Who Buys Electric Vehicles in Japan?
In China, the first group of people to buy electric vehicles were "tech geeks" and "fashion pioneers". They were not just buying a car but a sense of the future and a status symbol. A typical example is Li Xiang, the founder of Li Auto, who was one of the first people in China to buy a Tesla.
However, if you apply this logic directly to Japan, it may not work.
In Japan, the situation is much more realistic. First of all, you need to understand that in Japan, especially in big cities like Tokyo, you must prove that you have a parking space, the so - called "parking space certificate", before you can buy a car.
This brings a very serious problem: those well - dressed white - collar elites living in high - end apartments in the city center are not the primary customers for electric vehicles. Why? Because the rules in Japanese apartment parking lots are too strict. First of all, the fire - prevention and disaster - prevention regulations are extremely strict, and the parking spaces are designed to be very narrow. It's very difficult to install a private charging pile in your own parking space. Not only are the procedures cumbersome, but it's also hard to get through the approval of the property management and neighbors.
So, who exactly is buying new energy vehicles like those from BYD?
The answer may surprise you: the main group is middle - aged families aged 40 to 50 who live in "detached houses". A "detached house" is a single - family house with a private parking space in front. This solves the biggest pain point of charging - you can install a charging pile by simply running a cable at your own doorstep, which is convenient and worry - free.
Mr. Wei Xing (transliteration), the owner of a BYD Dolphin, is also an engineer | Image source: GeekPark
Mr. Wei Xing (transliteration) is definitely one of the first people in Japan to "try something new". He picked up his BYD Dolphin in June 2024. Before buying this car, he drove a 50 - year - old Fiat classic car. In Japan, because there is no mandatory vehicle scrapping system, it's not uncommon to see such "living fossils" on the road.
As an engineer, he doesn't make impulsive purchases. He himself said that when it comes to electronic products, if a new model is just launched, he will never buy the first or second generation. He will definitely wait and observe until the technology is mature and the problems are solved, and then buy the third generation. He took the same approach when buying a BYD, which shows that he has been paying attention to this brand for a long time. From the launch of the ATTO 3 (Yuan PLUS) to the entry of the Dolphin into Japan, he has been observing and researching.
Mr. Wei Xing said that before he decided to buy a car, when he talked to his Japanese friends, he found that most of them had never even heard of the three letters "BYD" and looked very confused. When he actually drove the Dolphin home, the reactions of the people around him were very diverse.
He has engineer friends all over the world. For example, his friends in Singapore were more familiar with and recognized BYD when they heard about it.
But back in Japan, the situation changed. Once, when he went to rent a temporary parking space, the administrator, upon hearing that it was an electric car and seeing that it was a Chinese brand, immediately