Chery tiptoes into Japan with EV ‘kei’ microcar joint venture

China’s leading car exporter is targeting the insular Japanese market through a Singaporean joint venture, as the domestic car market struggles

Key Takeaways:

• Chery’s 27% stake in a Singaporean joint venture aiming to launch micro-EVs in Japan next year is a cautious first step into the world’s fourth largest auto market
• The carmaker is China’s leading exporter, with 177,666 vehicles sold abroad in May, about three times its domestic sales

By Edith Terry

Japan’s auto market has long been a fortress dominated by hometown giants like Toyota, Honda and Nissan. But Chery Automobile Co. Ltd. (9973.HK) seems to think it has what it takes to break down the walls, as it looks to maintain its status as the largest exporter in China’s increasingly globally focused car-making machine.

Last month, Zhang Guibing, head of Chery’s overseas business division, told Japanese reporters that “a new customer base would emerge in Japan,” by offering cars with “unique features not found in Japanese automakers.” That seemed to imply an initiative involving electric vehicles (EVs), which Japan’s big car brands have largely neglected.

Days later, Yokohama-based EMT Co. Ltd. announced its launch of Emta, a new automotive brand for the Japanese market that it said “addresses the everyday challenges of driving in Japan,” known for things like its narrow streets and alleys and scarcity of parking places.

Emta’s CEO is He Xiaoqing, a former president of Changan Ford, a 50-50 joint venture between Changan Auto (000625.SZ) and Ford Motor (F.US), and its operating company is based in a WeWork office in Yokohama, near Tokyo. It will launch its first car under the Emta brand in the second half of 2027. The model will be a “kei,” or microcar, a unique vehicle class that makes up roughly 40% of the Japanese market, with 1.6 million such cars sold in 2025.

Emta is owned by Electric Mobility Technology, a Singapore-based joint venture that counts Chery as one of its five partners with a 27.27% stake. The vehicles will be produced by another partner, Jiangsu Yueda Automobile Group, which also holds 27.27%. Autobacs Seven Co. (9832.T), Japan’s largest automotive aftermarket retail and service network, holds 18.18%. Chinese battery maker Gotion High-tech (002074.SZ) owns 18.18%, while Anest Iwata Corp. (6381.T), an auto paint supplier, holds the remaining 9.09%.

Chery will provide technology to the venture, including vehicle architecture, electric drive and assisted driving systems. According to Emta’s marketing director, former Nissan China general manager Susumu Uchikoshi, the Emta will aim at a price comparable to gas-powered kei cars.

Boxy hatchback

Emta’s first car, a boxy hatchback, will have the same approximate footprint as the Chery QQ Ice Cream, with a 1.96-meter wheelbase and a lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery with a range between 155 kilometers and 220 kilometers.

Honda’s (7267.T) gas-powered N-Box micro-van is currently Japan’s best-selling kei car, costing between 1.74 million yen ($10,880) and 2.48 million yen. The model sold 201,354 units last year, ahead of the 166,533 for Toyota’s (7203.T) Yaris kei car, and 165,589 for Suzuki’s (6785.T) Spacia kei car.

Emta will spend 2027 setting up as many as 100 sales and service outlets for its EV foray, working with Autobacs, and will consider manufacturing in Japan after 2030, according to CEO He Xiaoqing.

Emta is not the first EV micro-car in the Japanese market with ties to China. While the Chery joint venture has been ultra-cautious with its plans, leading new energy vehicle (NEV) maker BYD (1211.HK; 002594.SZ) began selling electric buses in Japan as early as 2015, and followed with its EV sedans in 2022. It announced its own kei car initiative last October, with the BYD Racco set to go on sale this summer or fall. Developed for the Japanese market, the model is powered by an LFP battery with a range of 180 kilometers and sells for around 2.5 million yen.

Chery and BYD aren’t alone, with Honda, Nissan and Suzuki also announcing their own electric kei car initiatives.

For the Chinese carmakers, Japan is less about driving into a major new market and more about looking for growth outside their rapidly slowing home market crowded with as many as 100 auto brands. That market is currently the world’s largest, but has recorded seven straight months of contraction amid growing consumer caution, including an especially sharp 21.6% decline in April for new car sales.

First mover

Chery was a first mover among its peers in going abroad, and has been China’s top exporter for 23 consecutive years. But BYD has made up rapid ground lately, exporting 160,000 vehicles in May alone, not far from Chery’s 177,666 vehicle exports for the month. China’s overall vehicle exports are also rising fast, jumping 85% year-over-year in April to 796,000 vehicles, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

Japan has been famous over the years for its lack of foreign car brands in the market. That owes to factors like driving habits, regulatory restrictions and the high quality of public transport. Imports have always made up less than 10% of the market, limited mainly to European luxury brands. Chinese brands are almost invisible, accounting for just 3,870 of 243,129 imported cars in 2025, or roughly 5% of total domestic car sales of 4.5 million units.

Japan also discourages private car ownership more broadly due to the country’s high population density. High tolls for inter-city highways make driving from Tokyo to Osaka as expensive as taking the famous bullet train or flying, while Tokyo and other cities are dense with alleys and lanes dating from pre-industrial times. Domestic car sales are also taking a hit from Japan’s rapidly declining population, with the number falling steadily since peaking at 5.3 million vehicles sold in 2018.

Japanese carmakers have also largely missed the EV revolution. Only 95,584 pure EVs were sold in the country last year, or just 3% of total unit sales, although hybrid vehicles have done better. Japanese EV imports last year totaled 30,513 vehicles, according to the Japan Automobile Importers Association.

While it’s still too early to place bets on their chances for success, Chery and BYD should at least be congratulated for tackling one of the world’s most closed auto markets to outside brands. Chery’s strategy of working with local Japanese partners with strong resources in the local car market could also boost its chances of success.

From an investor point of view, the Japanese market is likely to be a mere blip on Chery’s radar. The company’s 177,666 units exported in May accounted for about three-quarters of its total sales of 231,994 vehicles for the month, showing its heavy reliance on overseas markets. If the Emta joint venture proves successful, it could eventually offer Chery an onramp to sell its own vehicles in Japan, as it works to maintain its streak as China’s leading car exporter.

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