Autobacs Seven Co., Ltd.

Autobacs Seven announced a revision to its earnings forecast after the market close on August 27, raising its consolidated net profit for the fiscal year ending March 2027 from the previous forecast of 9 billion yen to 11.2 billion yen (compared to 8.35 billion yen in the previous fiscal year), an upward revision of 24.4%. This expands the profit growth rate from 7.8% to 34.1%, and the company is expected to post its highest profit in 30 years. The company did not disclose its earnings outlook for the April-September period (first half).

Chinese automakers are accelerating their push into the Japanese market with electric vehicles. Facing slowing growth at home and tariff barriers in the West, they aim to crack the market by leveraging Japan’s unique kei EV standards. BYD has unveiled the RACCO, a kei EV designed specifically for Japan, and appointed the former developer of the Nissan Sakura to lead the effort, packing it with family-friendly features like automatic sliding doors and heated cup holders. BYD’s global sales in 2025 are around 4.6 million units, making it the top EV seller, but its domestic sales in China have been falling year on year, hit by shrinking incentives for new energy vehicles. With the United States imposing a 100 percent tariff on Chinese-made EVs and the European Union also raising duties, Japan, which has no such tariff measures, presents a lower barrier to entry. BYD is rushing to build a sales network through partnerships with major import car dealers. Chery Automobile is co-developing a kei EV with Autobacs Seven and plans to launch it next year, while premium EV brand Zeekr has announced it will introduce an electric minivan. Hiroyuki Shimizu of AlixPartners describes the Japanese market as low risk, low return, while Wu Mingxian of TNC Research and Consulting points to challenges such as Japanese consumers’ willingness to buy Chinese cars given their demand for high quality, and the need to expand sales and service networks in rural areas.

AUTOBACS SEVEN has marked a decade-long partnership with Rimini Street, using the support provider to stabilize its core SAP ECC and Oracle Database systems while freeing resources for innovation. The Japanese automotive aftermarket retailer, which operates roughly 1,300 domestic and 150 overseas stores, first switched to Rimini Support for SAP ECC 6 in 2016 and later expanded the engagement to include Oracle Database. The move delivered immediate 50% savings on annual support fees and up to 90% lower total cost of ownership, along with a 15-year guarantee on its SAP ECC 6 and Oracle Database environments. AUTOBACS SEVEN now plans to leverage Rimini Smart Path to fuel a planned doubling of its business, using the savings to attract AI specialists and fund new digital capabilities without disruptive system overhauls.