The popular 2023 Japanese mini trucks
Japanese mini trucks are increasingly popular in the United States in 2023. Check out which mini trucks are below!
Kei mini trucks are not only adorable, they are also quite useful. And rural Americans are increasingly aware of the charms of small vehicles that were initially intended to take advantage of Japanese tax laws.
Jake Morgan, a North Carolina farmer, recently told the Economist that he has one to get around his property. At first, he looked for side-by-sides from John Deere and the like, but they can go as high as $$ 30,000 (R$151,737).
While watching a video review of one of these vehicles, he read a comment asking why buyers didn't just buy mini trucks. So he decided to investigate and couldn't find a reason not to.
A few months later, he was on his way to Newport, Virginia, to buy a Honda Acty 1997, which only spent US$ 2000 importing from Japan. Not only was it "really cheap," he said, its small size meant it got into his barn and other places his pickup truck couldn't. “They are incredibly useful,” he reports.
Indeed, Morgan is far from the only one interested in importing Kei mini trucks that are over 25 years old. Todd Gatto, one of the owners of HVNY Imports in New York, said his company has sold more than 300 to local businesses in the past two years.
“We bought five of them to start with and sold them all in seven days,” he said, adding that they are not just popular with farmers. “Many commercial companies see their use in a Ford F-250 from US$ 85,000. (R$429.921)”
He says he has sold Kei trucks to customers as varied as farmers, contractors, delis and even Legoland. And that points to another advantage of Kei mini trucks over side-by-sides: they can be registered for the road.
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There are downsides, however. Morgan describes his Acty as a "death trap" on a busy highway, and some states are deregistering small vehicles imported from Japan.
However, despite being tiny, and some lacking airbags, they were built for Japanese roads, which means they can be found in comfort.
After selling his first mini-truck, Morgan bought a second one with air conditioning and a push-button tipper. However, even without luxuries, mini trucks fill a gap in the American market for something cheap, small and useful that is welcome on public roads.
