Toyota to launch tiny trucks in US markets

Imagine a pickup truck, but much smaller, lighter and lacking any frills. It’s a vehicle that people in Japan have been using for decades. And now Toyota wants to sell one in the United States.

This week, the automaker introduced a tiny pickup truck inspired by Japanese “Kei” trucks, under the Scion brand that Toyota shuttered in 2016. The vehicle, the Scion KEI-01, will go on sale next year.

Kei vehicles (pronounced like the letter “K”) are a distinct category of small cars, vans and trucks in Japan and other Asian countries. These vehicles have long had a cult following in the United States. Even President Donald Trump showed adoration, calling them “really cute” and “sort of like the Beetle used to be.” He made the remarks last year after a visit to Japan and mused about finding a way to have them sold in the United States.

But buying and using one of these vehicles in the United States is not easy. Car buffs who want Kei cars and trucks typically import vehicles that are at least 25 years old from Japan to take advantage of a provision in U.S. law that exempts older vehicles from federal safety and emissions standards.

Toyota says the KEI-01 will be assembled in Indiana and will qualify as a “low speed vehicle” under federal regulations. Vehicles in that category must have a top speed of 25 mph and are generally forbidden from roads with speed limits of more than 35 mph. Such vehicles also do not have to meet the same safety and other standards as regular cars.

The KEI-01 is in many ways the opposite of traditional U.S. pickup trucks like the Ford F-150 or Chevrolet Silverado, which over the past several decades have become bigger, heavier and more expensive. Most automakers have found that it is much easier to make a profit on larger vehicles because they tend not to cost much more to make than smaller ones but can be sold for a lot more money.

While Toyota has not said how much the new trucks will sell for, it is likely to be much cheaper than a new F-150, which starts at more than $40,000. The KEI-01 will join several other new smaller vehicles from established and startup automakers.

“I’d say it’s a multidecade trend of vehicles getting larger in the U.S. — so it’s interesting on that front,” said Kevin Roberts, director of economic and market intelligence at CarGurus, a car listing and research firm. “And we have seen other automakers start to want to bring in more affordable vehicles into the space.”

Stellantis’ Fiat brand recently began selling a two-seat, low-speed electric vehicle called the Topolino for around $15,000. Slate, a new automaker, plans to offer an electric two-door pickup truck that can travel on highways and starts at about $25,000. And TELO Trucks, another startup, has said it is building an electric truck for less than $50,000 for people who are “tired of oversized, impractical trucks.” And next year, Ford plans to begin selling an electric pickup called the Fathom for a starting price of around $30,000.

Scion was first created by Toyota in 2003 as an experimental project to try to attract young millennial buyers. The automaker says it is reviving the brand to try out “new ideas for mobility.”

Asked if Toyota was also responding to Trump’s comments about Kei cars and his desire to see them in the United States, the company said it was responding to broader interest in such vehicles.

“In the U.S., interest in Kei trucks has increased and we see an opportunity to meet diversifying customer needs with a capable, affordable, ultracompact utility truck,” Ed Hellwig, a company spokesperson, said in an email.

The truck will not be practical as a replacement for a regular car or pickup. In addition to its low speed, the KEI-01’s steering wheel will be on the right-hand side as it is in Japan. Partly as a result, Toyota has said it expects the truck, which has a three-cylinder engine and a bed that opens on three sides, will primarily be used by small businesses, farmers, colleges, local governments and hobbyists.

Hellwig said that the company had set no sales targets for the truck and that its price would be announced closer to when it goes on sale.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.