Kei trucks aren’t just adorable, they’re also quite useful. And rural Americans are becoming more and more aware of the charms of the little vehicles that were initially intended to take advantage of Japanese tax laws.
Jake Morgan, a farmer in North Carolina, recently told the Economist that he owns one of them to get around his property. At first, he looked for side-by-sides from John Deere and the like, but those can go for as much as $30,000.
While watching a video review of one such vehicle, he read a comment asking why buyers didn’t just buy mini trucks instead. So he decided to look into, and couldn’t come up with a reason why not.
A few months later, he was on his way to Newport, Virginia, to buy a 1997 Honda Acty, which he spent just $2,000 importing from Japan. Not only was it “dirt cheap,” he said, its small size meant that it drives into his barn and into other places his pickup can’t. “They’re amazingly useful,” he reports.
Read: Volkswagen Has Subaru Kei Van Destroyed For Being A ‘Knockoff Microbus’
Indeed, Morgan is far from the only one interested in importing Kei trucks that are more than 25 years old. Todd Gatto, one of the owners of HVNY Imports, in New York, said his firm has sold more than 300 to local businesses over the last couple of years.
“We bought five of them to start, and we sold them all within seven days,” he said, adding that they aren’t just popular with farmers. “A lot of commercial businesses see the use of these over an $85,000 [Ford] F-250.”
He says that he has sold Kei trucks to clients as varied as farmers, contractors, delis, and even to Legoland. And that hints at the other advantage of Kei trucks over side-by-sides: they can be registered for the road.
There are downsides, though. Morgan describes his Acty as a “death trap” on a busy highway, and certain states are deregistering small vehicles imported from Japan. However, despite being tiny, and some not having airbags, they were built for Japanese roads, which means they can be found with creature comforts.
After selling his first truck, Morgan bought a second one with air conditioning and a button that activates a dumper. However, even without the luxuries, the trucks fill a gap in the American market for something cheap, small, and useful that’s welcome on public roads.
