It’s not from Toyota, Nissan, or Honda, but the new Mibot mini EV is already turning heads. Priced at just ¥1 million (around $7,000), it costs nearly half as much as Japan’s best-selling EV, the Nissan Sakura
Japanese startup KG Motors is making waves in the country’s electric vehicle scene with its compact and budget-friendly “mobility robots.”
The company is gearing up to launch a small, single-seat electric vehicle known as the “mibot.” Measuring only 2,490 mm (98 inches) in length, this tiny EV is roughly the size of a golf cart—ideal for navigating Japan’s urban environments.
Thanks to its compact, lightweight frame and minimal upkeep requirements, KG Motors claims the mibot is well-suited for everyday commuting. It delivers a driving range of up to 100 km (62 miles) and tops out at 60 km/h (37 mph).
While those specs may seem modest compared to today’s typical EVs—many of which offer at least 300 miles (483 km) of range—the mibot is purpose-built for Japan’s narrow city roads. KG Motors is aiming to show that, in crowded cities, smaller really can be better.
Company founder and CEO Kazunari Kusunoki told Bloomberg: “Seeing so many big cars traveling Japan’s narrow streets – that’s where this all began for me.”
KG Motors began accepting reservations last fall, and the response was swift—over 1,000 applications rolled in during the first month. As of May, orders have climbed to 2,250 units, already surpassing half of the company’s initial 3,300-unit delivery goal set for March 2027.
That would mean KG Motors could outsell Toyota in Japan’s EV segment, which only moved around 2,000 units in 2024. Chinese automaker BYD, which entered the market in 2023, sold just over 2,200 EVs in Japan last year.
Japanese auto giants like Toyota, Honda, and Nissan have been slow to adopt battery electric vehicles (BEVs), trailing behind many global competitors.
Kusunoki shared his view: “Toyota said EVs aren’t the only solution and, because it’s Toyota, Japanese people assume it must be true.” As a result, he said, “A large number of people in Japan seem to believe EVs won’t become popular.” KG Motors aims to challenge that belief with the mibot.
Small cars, or “kei cars,” dominate the Japanese market, making up more than half of all vehicles on the road. Nissan’s Sakura topped the EV charts last year with 22,926 units sold.
The Sakura starts at ¥2.5 million ($17,000), whereas the mibot will debut early next year starting at just ¥1 million ($7,000) before tax.
According to Kusunoki, production will begin in October, with the first 300 units set for delivery in Japan by March 2026. The remaining 3,000 are planned for overseas markets.
Though the company expects to incur losses on the first production batch, it aims to become profitable with the second run. Afterward, KG Motors intends to scale up to around 10,000 mini EVs per year.
Can the mibot ignite EV adoption in Japan? At just $7,000, this tiny EV is already generating serious attention. With Japan’s sluggish shift to electrification, automakers like BYD are also eyeing opportunities. The mibot could be just what the country needs to shift gears.
