---
title: "BYD's mini stores: another way to build a sales network in Japan"
description: "BYD's Japan sales points: 51 in 2024, 77 in 2026; the 100 target slipped twice. New micro stores show one or two cars in ex-convenience stores. Density wins."
image: https://nobusato.jp/hubfs/blog-covers/byd-mini-stores-another-way-to-build-a-sales-network-en.png
---

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# BYD's mini stores: another way to build a sales network in Japan

[Nobu Sato](https://nobusato.jp/en/profile?hsLang=en)

![BYD's mini stores:another way to builda sales network](https://nobusato.jp/hs-fs/hubfs/blog-covers/byd-mini-stores-another-way-to-build-a-sales-network-en.png?width=1200&height=630&name=byd-mini-stores-another-way-to-build-a-sales-network-en.png)

**Chinese companies in Japan** · Seven public cases, taken apart for the moves, not to grade the companies.

1. [BYD built a car only for Japan](https://nobusato.jp/en/blog/byd-built-a-car-only-for-japan?hsLang=en)
2. [The subsidy wall: the rules are not written for you](https://nobusato.jp/en/blog/the-subsidy-wall-rules-are-not-written-for-you?hsLang=en)
3. BYD's mini stores: another way to build a sales network in Japan
4. [Xiaomi's Japan stores are catching up with Apple's. Why the first one was in Saitama](https://nobusato.jp/en/blog/why-xiaomi-opened-its-first-japan-store-in-saitama?hsLang=en)
5. [Open the repair center before you scale](https://nobusato.jp/en/blog/open-the-repair-center-before-you-scale?hsLang=en)
6. [Chagee isn't in Japan yet. Osaka already has a shop that looks a lot like it](https://nobusato.jp/en/blog/chagee-lookalike-in-osaka-trademark-first?hsLang=en)
7. [Why Chinese tea brands crowd into Korea and not Japan](https://nobusato.jp/en/blog/why-chinese-tea-brands-crowd-korea-not-japan?hsLang=en)

When BYD announced its Japan entry in 2022, the target was 100 stores by the end of 2025. It didn't get there. April 2024: 51 points, run by 22 dealer companies. November 2025: 68. September 2026, per the company: 77, of which 59 open and 18 in preparation. The 100 target slipped to end-2026, then to end-2027.

Those aren't bad numbers. They do show one thing clearly. Opening a proper car showroom in Japan takes far longer than anyone plans for. So in early 2026 BYD changed the kind of store it opens.

## The micro store

Nikkei's January report called it a "micro store." One or two models on display, in small vacant sites such as former convenience stores, with roughly half the preparation time, aimed at regional cities under 500,000 people. After the Racco launched on 28 July, the reason got clearer. Kei-car buyers live in the regions and the suburbs, often in households adding a second car. They will not drive an hour to a showroom in the prefectural capital to look at one car.

The Tokyo Suginami store that opened on 31 July was the 55th official showroom. It started with five staff, and a service workshop 300 meters away opened two months later. Five people per store is the baseline for a conventional showroom. The micro store runs lighter.

Aug 2022Japan entry announcedtarget: 100 stores by end-2025Apr 202451 pointsrun by 22 dealersNov 202568 points100 target moved to end-2026Jan 2026Nikkei: micro stores1–2 cars, ex-convenience stores, half the prepJul 2026Racco launchSuginami = 55th official showroomSep 202677 points (59 open + 18 prep)100 moved to end-2027From Nikkei, MotorFan and BYD Auto Japan's store list

**Fig.1**Conventional showrooms: 77 points in three and a half years. Micro stores keep the own-brand principle and cut investment per point, trading number for coverage.

## Compared with the distributor route

[Why your distributor isn't selling your product](https://nobusato.jp/en/blog/why-your-distributor-isnt-selling?hsLang=en) describes the other road. You hand the product to an existing distributor and borrow its reps and customers. BYD didn't. It uses own brand, local dealer. The sign says BYD, and the operator is a Japanese car-retail company such as Meiji Sangyo, or Yanase, which started as a Mercedes importer.

This road is slow. Every store means finding a local dealer willing to invest, then negotiating, building, training and opening. But it buys two things a distributor never gives you. The store holds only your cars and the reps sell only your cars, so your product is the first thing on their minds. With a distributor it might be tenth. And the service network is yours, which in [the subsidy wall](https://nobusato.jp/en/blog/the-subsidy-wall-rules-are-not-written-for-you?hsLang=en) post is a scoring item.

The micro store is a way to speed up the slow road. It keeps the own-brand principle and cuts investment and preparation per point to the minimum, trading number for coverage. For a 2.14 million yen kei car, a small store showing only that car fits better than a large showroom showing five.

## Technicians first, showrooms second

One detail matters more to me than the store count. BYD's partnership with Meiji Sangyo began with training technicians to handle high-voltage batteries. Only after that did Meiji Sangyo become one of the top five dealers nationwide. Someone who can fix it comes first. The store that sells it comes second. In Japan that order matters even more. Before buying a car, as before buying an appliance, a Japanese consumer first asks who takes care of it when something goes wrong. [Open the repair center before you scale](https://nobusato.jp/en/blog/open-the-repair-center-before-you-scale?hsLang=en) tells the Xiaomi version of the same logic.

## What to borrow and what not to

The part worth borrowing is the split. Run sales points in two formats, by customer. A full format, with service and several models, in busy places, and only a few of them. A micro format, with the one or two products that fit best, placed where the customers live, and many of them. The two differ by an order of magnitude in investment and by half in preparation time. Most companies entering Japan have only the first format. That is how three years produce five stores.

The part not to copy is the timing. BYD needed three and a half years and 10,000 cumulative cars before local dealers were willing to invest. A brand that just arrived in Japan with no sales will not find dealers ready to open stores with their own money, and then even the micro stores come out of your own pocket. So go in order. Prove the product sells with a few directly run stores. Then talk to dealers. Then talk about micro stores. People who try to jump to step three usually stop at step one.

The 100-store target slipped twice, and each time it slipped, the count was still rising. In Japan that is more common than hitting a number on schedule. I'd also call it more real.

References

- [日本経済新聞：BYD、極小店舗で日本全国に軽EV販売網（2026-01）](https://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXZQOUC264N80W6A120C2000000/)
- [MotorFan：オープンしたばかりの「BYD AUTO 東京杉並」で東福寺社長に直撃（2026-08）](https://motor-fan.jp/article/1585041/)
- [blade-note：BYD日本の店舗数2026（公式店舗一覧の集計）](https://blade-note.com/byd-japan-dealers-2026/)

---

Shorter notes that don't make it into a full article go on LinkedIn. [Follow me there](https://www.linkedin.com/in/realnobusato/).

## More in this column

- ### [A joint venture with a Japanese partner: shortcut or detour?](https://nobusato.jp/en/blog/japanese-joint-venture-shortcut-or-detour?hsLang=en)
  
  BYD built its own entity, Chery joined a five-company JV, UBTech gave a listed firm 36-month exclusivity. Own entity, ...
- ### [Why Chinese tea brands crowd into Korea and not Japan](https://nobusato.jp/en/blog/why-chinese-tea-brands-crowd-korea-not-japan?hsLang=en)
  
  Mixue, Chabaidao, HeyTea and Chagee are all in Seoul. In Japan they open and close while Gong Cha grew from 57 to 244. ...
- ### [Open the repair center before you scale](https://nobusato.jp/en/blog/open-the-repair-center-before-you-scale?hsLang=en)
  
  At five stores, Xiaomi opened an Akihabara service center before growing to ten. Japanese buyers ask who fixes it ...

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Column guides[Launching in Japan](https://nobusato.jp/en/blog/guide-launching-in-japan?hsLang=en)[Organizations & Hiring](https://nobusato.jp/en/blog/guide-organizations-and-hiring?hsLang=en)[Japan by the Numbers](https://nobusato.jp/en/blog/guide-japan-by-the-numbers?hsLang=en)[Career](https://nobusato.jp/en/blog/guide-career?hsLang=en)[Glossary](https://nobusato.jp/en/blog/glossary?hsLang=en)

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