If You Want A Kei Truck, Import A Kei Truck
The Scion by Toyota Kei-01 might be appealing, but it's hindered by regulation
Remember when U.S. President Donald Trump said he wanted to have kei cars available in the United States to help consumers deal with the affordability crisis and high gas prices? Well, Toyota seemed to respond to that request by resurrecting the Scion name with the Scion by Toyota Kei-01. While it's most certainly a kei car, it's not necessarily the kei product that many enthusiasts may have been hoping for.
Not because of what it is, but because the U.S. regulations that the truck falls under make it a sub-optimal kei truck experience. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation's FMVSS No. 500, the Kei-01 is defined as a Low-Speed Vehicle, so the truck is limited, by law, to 25 mph (40 kph). It's also restricted to driving on roads with a maximum speed limit of 35 mph (56 kph) or less. Certainly, there'll be tuners out there who can bypass the speed limiter to unleash the massive fury of that 660-cc engine, but that doesn't make it any more legal to drive on highways or on other roads where it's restricted.
You might not even be able to get a Kei-01
However, if you import a 25-year-old kei truck, it isn't officially classified as a Low-Speed Vehicle and instead falls under state regulations regarding whether it's legal and where it's legal to drive. In some states, you can drive the vehicle virtually anywhere, while others still limit them to the equivalent of an LSV. The point is, the imported truck has fewer legal restrictions than the brand-new truck, even if they're fundamentally the same thing. Not that you'd want to drive a kei truck on the highway, but depending on the state, you'll have that option with a 25-year-old import.
Of course, even if you wanted the new Kei-01, you probably won't be able to get one. Toyota has said it will initially sell it to fleet customers through a small number of authorized Scion by Toyota dealerships. Plus, we have no idea how much this vehicle will cost. Toyota and the industry will certainly be watching to see how successful this experiment is, but if you want a kei truck now, importing one is still the smarter way to go.