How this $7,000 EV is said to be busting the 'biggest' myth about cars in Japan and is set to beat Toyota in EV sales
A Japanese startup, KG Motors, is aiming to boost Japan's electric vehicle (EV) market with an ultra-compact, affordable one-seater EV called the mibot, according to Bloomberg. Resembling a futuristic golf cart, the mibot is designed for Japan's narrow streets and has already pre-sold over half of the 3,300 units planned for delivery in 2027. This puts
KG Motors
on track to surpass Toyota, which sold around 2,000 EVs in Japan in 2024. This reportedly puts KG Motors on track to sell more EVs in Japan than the world's biggest automaker, Toyota Motor Corp., which shifted around such 2,000 vehicles in all of 2024.
In a country where EVs are still a rare sight, KG Motors is trying to bust a burgeoning myth: That Bigger is Better.
'Cars are simply too big,' said Kazunari Kusunoki, KG Motors' founder and CEO, as quoted by Bloomberg. The mibot, priced at ¥1 million ($7,000) before tax, is half the cost of Japan's popular Nissan Sakura EV. It offers a 100-kilometer range, a five-hour charge time, and a top speed of 60 km/h. Production is set to begin in October at a new factory east of Hiroshima.
Japan's EV market lags globally, with EVs making up just 3.5% of vehicle sales in 2023 compared to the global average of 18%, per BloombergNEF. Toyota's multi-pathway approach, favoring hybrids alongside EVs, has shaped public skepticism about EVs' popularity, Kusunoki noted. However, small kei cars like the Sakura, which sold nearly 23,000 units in 2024, dominate Japan's EV market.
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KG Motors' mibot, with its minimalist design and low production costs, targets rural areas with declining public transport. Bloomberg reports that 95% of the 2,250 pre-orders come from homeowners with at least one vehicle. The startup expects to break even on its second batch of 3,000 units and aims to produce 10,000 annually thereafter.
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