Toyota Revives Scion to Sell a Kei Truck in America
Toyota brand Scion is back and it's going to sell a kei truck in America
Toyota is bringing back Scion as a 'freedom lab' for unconventional mobility ideas, and its first production vehicle is a rebadged kei truck called the KEI-01. Limited to 25 mph and sold only to fleets starting in late 2027, it packs 4WD, a 600-pound payload, and a fold-down bed. Two concepts join it: a 300-hp hybrid side-by-side and a compact off-road bike.
The KEI-01 is quite literally a rebadged Toyota Pixis, which is a rebadged Daihatsu Hijet Jumbo Cab.
- freetime2
I use a kei truck for farming. They are incredibly pragmatic little vehicles. They are very capable driving around on dirt/gravel agricultural roads with 4WD, and they are inexpensive and robust enough that you can really beat them up and use them as a tool without worry. Repairs and replacement parts are ubiquitous and inexpensive. Having the sides of bed fold down is also really useful.
They aren't comfortable to drive at all (although just having A/C at all on a hot summer day in the field is a godsend), and I wouldn't want to do longer trips in one - although you certainly could in a pinch.
It seems like Toyota/Scion is just testing the waters here, and I'm not sure how successful they'll be. But I hope there is a future for kei trucks in the US.
- ilamont
25 mph works for golf courses, resort, or island use. In rural areas on the mainland, roads connecting towns often have 45 or 55 mph speed limits so unless you plan on staying on the farm I don't think these are practical for trips to go shopping, dumping, hauling, etc.
As for the imports, I saw one of these 90s-era right-hand drive kei trucks at a parking lot a few months ago and talked with the owner. He was a young guy who lived in Boston, said it was super easy to park. Speed maxed out at 70 mph, which is fine for local trips but maybe not for long highway trips.
For people in jurisdictions that allow 30 year old truck imports, and are interested in getting one, there are other countries that use such trucks and have left-hand drive. Taiwan has models from CMC and Suzuki, and I believe South Korea also makes them.
- 6DM
With a built in 25mph limiter, that eliminates "city" driving too unfortunately. Most roads around me are 35 mph.
There's sizeable demand for people who want to be able to do runs to the bigbox stores for garden and DIY renovation supplies and store it the rest of the time.
- classictraffic
This would have been an instant buy for me if it weren't for the 25mph limit. That being said, I'm extremely excited by this, because it proves there is demand for Kei trucks in the US. I've done a lot of research into the import process for bringing a truck over from Japan, and I'll likely end up going that route in a year or so unless newer trucks with higher speeds get announced
- Schlagbohrer
I love those trucks, the way they look, but how are they for tall people? 6.5 feet / 2m or taller
- erickhill
660cc engine at ~40 horsepower is about the same as a mid-70s VW Beetle - not in cc size, but HP potential.
This little truck could do a lot more than 25 mph if it were allowed to do so. Not saying that would be safe, and I'd not want to ever put one on a busy freeway, but for getting around most urban cities in the US it's fine as-is but would be even better if the limit was ~40 mph.
- Grombobulous
For those of you clamoring for kei trucks to be street legal in the US, you really need to do some street view comparisons between Japan and the US.
US roads are built for much, much higher speeds. Kei cars purposefully give up safety with the caveat that they’re only used on low speed roadways, and Japan designs their roads with the intention of these vehicles being acceptably safe in that context.
- __alexander
It’s a huge mistake to limit the speed to 25mph. When this is released in 2027, Kei trucks will be street legal in Colorado. I would have pre-ordered this without question but that speed makes it useless for basic commuting or running errands.
- ryzvonusef
Not sure ho well they will work with the 25mph limit. Might as well import an actual kei truck, even if 25 year old... or get one of those mini electric chinese pickups:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIPXsvWPcGI
btw, there is a Californian company called Telo Truck that wants to sell a Kei-ish truck but as an EV cab forward. I say Kei-ish because it is 152 inch long (they compare it to a Mini on their website), where as Kei trucks can max be 134 inch, it gives me the same shape and vibes.
If the company ever makes it to production, then i guess that could be a real option.
- SwellJoe
All little trucks are beautiful. The perfect truck is a 1985 long bed Toyota Pickup, but I guess I'm happy about any little trucks coming to the US, since the laws are stacked so much against them.