Video Title : "[Big News] The Black Ship EV is Coming to Japan's Galapagos Light Vehicle Market... / The Impact of BYD's "Light Vehicle EV" Launch in 2026"
Is BYD planning to make and sell kei-car in 2026?? Will it be BYD Starfish?? (The other possible names for BYD new cars are BYD Manatee and BYD Whale, but the names are so big in size.)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gal%C3%A1pagos_syndrome said : Galápagos syndrome (ガラパゴス化, Garapagosu-ka, / Galápagos effect) is a term of Japanese origin used in business studies to refer to an isolated development branch of a globally available product. The term is used as an analogy to a part of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species. Darwin encountered in the Galápagos Islands isolated flora and fauna, which had undergone evolutionary changes independently from the mainland. This phenomenon was a key to the development of evolutionary theory. Darwin stated that due to the differences in environment from one island to another, species adapted to make survival more viable in the local environment of each island. Similarly, a development of goods "in relative isolation from the rest of the world because of a focus on the local market" can lead to similarly differing products.
The term "Galápagos syndrome" has been used as a metaphor outside the field of business jargon. The term "Galápagosization", referring to the process of the isolation of Japanese "Galápagos-thinking", links this process to the Japanese island mentality.
Kei cars ("light cars") are small four-wheeled vehicles/cars that have an engine of less than 660cc and enjoy preferential treatment in the form of tax advantages and lower insurance costs. Originally the Japanese government encouraged the use of those "light cars". This category of cars features a number of different car types including sport cars, minivans and commercial vehicles. However, Kei cars are not seen as profitable in export markets and therefore are only part of the Japanese domestic automobile market. Despite no significant global success, major Japanese car manufacturers such as Suzuki, Mitsubishi, Daihatsu and Honda still produce models belonging to the Kei car category.
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kei_car said : For exports, the vehicles are generally too small and specialized to be profitable. Notable exceptions exist; for instance, the Suzuki Alto and Daihatsu Cuore have been exported consistently since around 1980. The export version of the Suzuki Jimny, with upgrades to increase its width, has also gained significant popularity outside Japan.
* AI Overview said : Galápagos syndrome refers to the phenomenon where a product or service, initially designed for a specific market, evolves into a version that becomes isolated and incompatible with other markets, similar to how species in the Galápagos Islands have evolved in isolation. This can lead to a product or service being uniquely suited for a particular region but unsuited for global adoption.
The term is often associated with Japan, where certain technologies and services, like "garakei" phones, have become highly specialized for the Japanese market and are not readily adaptable elsewhere.
h0ngcom think cars with the size of kei car will be not Japan-only cars anymore. In dense cities, small cars like that are easy to drive. In China, "Mini EV" cars are popular in cities too. So it should be not surprise much if BYD is thinking about make and sell Kei EVs.
In addition, h0ngcom guessed that BYD's Kei EV will have some similar appearances to Japanese Kei cars, at least in shape. And this model will probably have its world debut in Japan. When combined, it may give people (outside Japan) the idea that this model is in line with Japanese standards.
