What Are Kei Cars And Why Are They So Popular In Japan?

Japan is a very special country. The culture of the place is far from the western one and the car market also has its peculiarities. If you ever visit the country you may realize that there are cars with yellow license plates instead of white, and that they are also smaller than usual. These are the Kei Car.

Under a Japanese regulation imposed after the Second World War and that has evolved to what it is today, hundreds of inexpensive vehicles have been developed that are becoming more popular. Influenced by these standards, the differences are practically reduced to the design, since over time the best solutions of one have been copied by the rest.

Kei Car Advantages

The first Kei Car regulations were born in 1947. This offered juicy tax advantages for vehicles less than 2.8 meters long and engines with a maximum of 100 cubic centimeters. This was an attempt to motivate the devastated Japanese population to buy a car at a time when the economy was in shambles.

Over the years this regulation has matured and dictates the following: the vehicle cannot measure more than 3,400 mm long and 1,480 mm wide, while the engine will be limited to 660 cubic centimeters and a maximum power of 64 hp.

The advantages of these special vehicles include cheaper insurance, much easier  and cheaper maintenance , as well as a sale price much lower than that of a regular car. For example, the simplest options would cost around 6,000 euros at the exchange rate, in a country where the average salary is higher than 2,000 euros.

Another point in favor for these cars and a great problem for the rest is the issue of parking. In Japan, each registered car has to be associated with a parking space. If you don’t have seats, forget about buying a car. For Kei Car this is not the case, its purchase is free and it does not matter if you do not have where to park it.

What is its popularity?

The high market share that Kei Cars have taken in Japan is due to their peculiar characteristics, which are extraordinarily adapted to the needs of the general public and to the format of large Japanese cities. Despite their reduced dimensions, these cars have as much interior space as a traditional compact and even more in some cases.

Thanks to the amount of interior space, they are very versatile cars. In addition, with cities increasingly crowded and with less space for vehicles – narrow streets and parking spaces just enough space – the small size of these cars does not pose any problem to move around the city. 

To optimize space, most of the Kei Cars for sale have cubic shapes, including the delivery vans included in this segment. Still there are exceptions. Known are the Daihatsu Copen and the Suzuki Cappuccino, small roadster that have been joined by the Honda S660 (photo that heads this article), inspired by the new Honda NSX.

In addition, with the limitations that exist on the road, the power deficit that could mean having only 64 HP goes unnoticed, and more so in a country as small as Japan, where the highways are secondary. Finally, the recent arrival of versions with hybrid powertrains further increases the popularity of these cars as a means of urban transport.