If you are one of those properly enthusiastic car enthusiasts, the name of this category will surely tell you something. At least perhaps the fact that these are almost pocket-sized cars that are driven most often in Japan , where they are among the best sellers. But what is their history?
Before we get into it, we need to define what a kei car , literally translated as a light car, actually is. This is a car that must not exceed certain dimensions , cubic capacity and engine power. In return, the Japanese government will give such a car a tax break (when you buy it, you pay 3% of the car tax instead of 5% for a normal model), lower weight tax, relief from liability insurance, from road tax, and the need to prove that you have for your car permanent parking space (does not apply in big cities). Kei cars also have their own special markings – cars intended for private purposes have a yellow background with black lettering on it, cars intended for commercial purposes have the exact opposite combination.
The creation of the first kei cars dates back to the end of World War II . The Japanese economy was badly decimated, gasoline was in short supply, and most Japanese could barely afford a full-size automobile. On the other hand, they had enough money to buy a motorcycle. The Japanese government caught on, and to encourage the growth of the automobile industry , and therefore the industry in general, a new class of automobiles – the kei class – was issued.
The first standards from 1949 said that a kei car must not exceed a volume of 150 cm 3 for four-stroke engines and 100 cm 3 for two-stroke engines. Dimensions were limited to 2.8 meters in length , 1 meter in width and 2 meters in height. For the first time, these data were adjusted in 1950, when the permitted volume for four-stroke engines increased to 300 cm 3 and for two-stroke engines to 200 cm 3 , the maximum length was increased by one meter, the width by 30 cm. The year 1951 brought a further increase in volume for the four-stroke to 360 cm 3 and for the two-stroke to 240 cm 3 . The last modification to the "rules" came in 1955, when the volume of the two-stroke was increased to 360 cm 3 .
After establishing the rules for the production of these small cars, car manufacturers started to come up with the first innovations . In 1968, the first automatic transmission appeared in the Honda N360, two years later, Honda was the first to offer front disc brakes in the Z GS model, and in the same year, the Daihatsu Fellow Max SS achieved a then unprecedented 40 horsepower ! Other typical cars of the first era of kei class cars include the Suzulight, which is a separate brand under which Suzuki produced its small cars between 1955-1969, the Subaru 360 and Sambar, the Mazda R360 or the Honda Life.
In 1970 , sales of the kei class reached a whopping 750,000 units, but five years later, sales fell to just 150,000 cars per year, a drastic drop of 80%. The reasons were clear – the government stopped providing generous subsidies and emission limits became stricter and stricter. In addition to the decrease in sales, this situation also resulted in the exit of Honda and Mazda from this area of the market. Strict emission limits also significantly limited the production of Daihatsu and Suzuki cars, because both brands built their program on models with a two-stroke engine, and these had a very difficult time coping with the emission limits. Finally, all cars of this class with a 360 cm 3 engine had a problem with emission limits.
The pressure of the carmakers on the Japanese authorities became more and more until they finally got their way in the middle of 1975 – from the beginning of 1976, the maximum engine volume was increased to 550 cm 3 and the maximum permitted dimensions were increased by 20 cm in length and 10 cm in width. It took a while for car companies to adapt to the new regulations, but sales started to rise slightly. Some automakers that left the segment returned, and for the first time since 1974, sales of commercial and passenger kei cars crossed the 700,000 mark . The share of exports also began to grow more significantly, reaching a record 94,301 units in 1980 (17% went to Europe, another quarter of exports to Chile).
The 1980s also marks the second technical boom of kei cars. Four -wheel drive models arrive, first turbocharged engines. Among the most famous kei cars of that time are the first generation Daihatsu Cuore and the Suzuki Carry truck.
In March 1990 , the rules for the kei class changed significantly for the last time. The permitted engine volume rose to 660 cm 3 , the output was limited to a maximum of 64 horsepower for the first time, and the permitted length is now up to 3.3 meters. The new regulations came in handy for car companies – the Japanese economy was on the rise in the early 1990s, so it didn't take long for the first cars to meet the new regulations to appear on Japanese roads.
The so-called kei roadsters enjoyed unprecedented popularity in the nineties. These include the Honda Beat with an engine from a motorcycle in the middle or the Suzuki Cappuccino with an engine in the front. The absolute rage is the Mazda Autozam AZ-1 , which has the engine in the middle and in the compartment in the dashboard instructions on how to add the necessary power to the engine by increasing the turbo boost pressure. Of course, there were also classic kei cars, or kei trucks for small craftsmen. Examples include several versions of the Suzuki Carry, an abundance of Daihatsu, or personal models of the Suzuki Wagon R and Alto, which have also found their customers here.
The rules that came into force in 1998 apply today. Don't be alarmed though, the only change from the aforementioned 1990 measures is the lengthening of the car to a maximum of 3.4 meters and the widening to a maximum of 1.48 meters. Classic representatives of the time after these modifications are the Daihatsu Copen roadster, the Mitsubishi eK or the current retro Honda N One . Europe also makes its first and only attempt to break into the world of kei cars with a Smart with modified fenders and the name Smart K. However, this attempt ended as quickly as it began.
Currently, there are mainly four car manufacturers operating in the kei car class – Daihatsu , Honda, Mitsubishi and Suzuki . Nissan sells rebranded Suzuki and Mitsubishi models, Mazda sells Suzuki and Toyota models, with Subaru using Daihatsu to change.
Source: Honda, Suzuki, Subaru, Mazda, Toyota, Daihatsu, Nissan, wikipedia.org
