(Yicai) Oct. 22 -- Chinese carmaker BYD is teaming up with Japanese retailer Aeon to sell its electric vehicles through shopping centers across Japan by the end of this year, a move that sidesteps the country’s auto dealerships and could reshape how imported EVs reach Japanese consumers.

Aeon will handle orders and sales contracts while collaborating with BYD’s Japanese distributors to showcase cars in-store and walk buyers through purchases, Yicai learned yesterday. Aeon plans to attract buyers by offering discounts of over JPY100,000 (USD660) on BYD models, which will reach up to JPY1 million (USD6,590) when combined with national and local government EV subsidies.

With the subsidies, the roughly JPY2.9 million price tag for a BYD Dolphin, an electric hatchback that is the carmaker's main model in Japan, could fall to about JPY2 million (USD13,185). In China, it sells for between CNY99,800 and CNY129,800 (USD14,000 and USD18,130), according to BYD's website.

Aeon ultimately aims to directly import and distribute BYD autos in Japan. The Chiba-based company has 164 shopping centers in the country and about 2,500 EV charging stations across 374 stores nationwide.

The partnership could potentially open up a new sales path for Chinese EV brands in Japan, where domestic car manufacturers and their affiliated dealerships have dominated new vehicle sales and after-sales services.

BYD sold 802 cars in Japan last month, about three times more than a year earlier and accounting for about 20 percent of all imported pure EV sales, a record high, according to the Japan Automobile Importers Association. But Japanese models, such as Nissan Motor’s Sakura, Leaf, and Ariya, still dominate the local EV market.

Japanese models maintained their sales lead in the six months ended Sept. 30, with Honda Motor's N-Box ranking first, followed by Suzuki Motor's Spacia, and Toyota Motor's Yaris, according the Japan Automobile Dealers Association and the Japan Mini Vehicles Association.

Editor: Martin Kadiev