Kei car (or , kanji: , "light automobile", ), refers to the Japanese vehicle category for the smallest highway-legal passenger cars, with restricted dimensions and engine capacity. Similar Japanese categories exist for microvans and kei trucks. These vehicles are most often the Japanese equivalent of the European Union's A-segment "city cars".
The kei category was created by the Japanese government in 1949, and the regulations have been revised several times since. These regulations specify a maximum vehicle size, engine capacity, and power output, so that owners may enjoy both tax and insurance benefits. In most rural areas, they are also exempted from the parking space ownership requirement (as street parking is usually prohibited in Japan).
Kei cars have become very successful in Japan, consisting of over one-third of domestic new-car sales in fiscal year 2016, despite dropping from a record 40% market share in 2013 after the government increased kei car taxes by 50% in 2014. In 2018, seven of the 10 top-selling models were kei cars, including the top four, all boxy passenger vans: the Honda N-Box, Suzuki Spacia, Nissan Dayz, and Daihatsu Tanto.
In export markets, the genre is generally too small and specialized for most models to be profitable. Notable exceptions exist, for instance the Suzuki Alto and Daihatsu Cuore, which have been exported consistently from around 1980. Kei cars are not only popular with the elderly, but also with youths and younger families because of their affordability and ease of use.
Nearly all kei cars have been designed and manufactured in Japan, but a version of the German-made Smart Fortwo was briefly imported and officially classified as a kei car, and since then, the British Caterham 7 160 has also received such classification.
Description
Kei cars feature yellow license plates (with black numbers on a yellow background for private use, and yellow numbers on a black background for commercial use), earning them the name "yellow-plate cars" in English-speaking circles. Japanese government regulations limit the physical size, engine power, and engine displacement of kei cars. Kei cars have also been subject to other restrictions, such as lower speed limits; vehicles are equipped with a warning chime that sounds if being driven too fast.
Kei cars are often available with forced-induction engines, automatic and continuously variable transmissions, front-wheel drive, and all-wheel drive.
History
360-cc era (1949–1975)
The kei legal class originated in the era following the end of World War Two, when most Japanese citizens could not afford a full-sized car, though many had enough money to buy a motorcycle. To promote the growth of the car industry, as well as to offer alternative delivery vehicles to small business and shop owners, the kei category and standards were created. Originally limited to a displacement of only 150 cc (or just 100 cc for two-stroke engines) in 1949, dimensions and engine size limitations were gradually expanded in 1950, 1951, and 1955 to make kei car production more attractive to manufacturers.
In 1955, the displacement limit increased to 360 cc for both two-stroke and four-stroke engines, resulting in several new kei car models beginning production in the following years. These included the 1955 Suzuki Suzulight and the 1958 Subaru 360, the first mass-produced kei car, which were finally able to fill people's need for basic transportation without being too severely compromised. In 1955, the Japanese Ministry of International Trade and Industry also set forth goals to develop a "national car" that was larger than kei cars produced at the time. This goal influenced Japanese automobile manufacturers to determine how best to focus their product development efforts for kei cars or the larger "national" cars. The small exterior dimensions and engine displacement reflected the driving environment in Japan, with speed limits in Japan realistically not exceeding in urban areas. Kei cars were not allowed to be driven any faster than 40 km/h until the mid-1960s, when the kei speed limit was increased to .
The class then went through a period of ever increasing sophistication, with an automatic transmission appearing in the Honda N360 in August 1968, and front disc brakes becoming available on a number of sporting kei cars, beginning with the Honda Z GS of January 1970. Power outputs also kept climbing, reaching a peak with the Daihatsu Fellow Max SS of July 1970. Sales increased steadily, reaching a peak of 750,000 in 1970.