Kei Trucks to the UK Today (Summer 2024). What Do You Say?

What is a “Kei Truck,” anyway?

It’s a brilliant little piece of equipment, that’s what it is. Check out this used kei truck that we are exporting this summer (July, 2024) direct from Japan to the UK:

These small pickup trucks are often called “mini trucks” or “Japanese minitrucks” or “tiny trucks,” but here in Japan everyone calls them “keitora.” This is actually a hybrid Japanese and English word from “kei” (軽) in Japanese, meaning “light,” and “tora” (トラ), the Japanese pronunciation for the English word “truck.” So, light truck; which they are. But they are not hybrids in any other way. They are not hybrid gasoline/electric vehicles like a Toyota Prius or a Honda Insight. No, indeed! Japanese Kei Trucks are pure petrol powered, and petrol sipping, machines. They get great fuel economy without all the complexity of hybrid drive systems. (And batteries that wear our and need to be replaced and only give reduced power on really cold days and. ….ah! Don’t let me get on my hobby horse about whether hybrid cars or pure gasoline cars are more economical long term and short term. That is a chat for another day.)

Let’s talk more about the delightful little Mr Keitora. And let’s have some more pics of this beautiful, super clean and low miles (only 41,653 km / 25,882 miles on the clock, guys!) used minitruck going from us here in Japan straight to the United Kingdom via the port of Bristol which, along with Southampton, is one of the main UK ports that receive the good used Japanese cars that we ship direct to the UK. 

And here’s his odometer so that you can see the mileage for yourself.

And here’s a picture of the load bed so that you can get an idea of how clean and well cared for this secondhand kei truck (keitora) is.

When you are thinking of buying a used pickup type vehicle, the condition of the load bed can tell you something about how hard the machine you are looking at has been used. Of course, some scratches and paint abrasion is the norm in a second hand load hauler, that’s something I never complain about when looking for a used keitora, but it sure is nice to get a secondhand pickup with such a super clean cargo bay like this one.

Half Price Kei Trucks for the Brits?!?!

This machine we are looking at now is a very fine little pickup truck indeed, a Daihatsu HiJet, and he’s a perfect example of the good used kei trucks available at reasonable prices from the Japanese used car auctions here. And used Japanese minitruck prices are especially reasonable now (Summer 2024) when the Yen / Pound exchange rate is so much in the favour of our U.K. based customers. (One of the guys here at Japan Car Direct was recently joking to me that “The Brits are getting these things for half price!”)

With this used Daihatsu HiJet keitora you’re looking at an inexpensive utility vehicle that can carry 350kg of freight plus two people but is only 11 feet, 2 inches long (3.4m), 4 feet, 9 inches wide (1.5m) wide, 5 feet, 9 inches (1.8m) tall, and weighs only a smudging over 1,650lbs (say 750kg). It’s got 4WD (although there are 2WD versions available for most Japanese kei truck models). It has got a tight turning circle which is very helpful for landscaping work, grounds maintenance work, golf course maintenance, farming, and general tight downtown jobs. (Check it all out at our Kei for the UK page.) My favorite Japanese minitruck for tight turning circle is the Subaru Sambar.

I had the van version and that little machine’s turning circle (12 feet 8 inches, if you want to know) and small over all dimensions pulled me out of a Japanese downtown back street nightmare in Kamakura where I had gone to see the Great Buddha.

Instead, I got lost and got a load of sweat on my brow trying to get out of what I had got into; but at least I found relief in the Sambar’s ability to wriggle through those tight lanes. (Maybe there is a Buddhist lesson there about flexibility and patience…..and vehicle choice.)

Now the specs we’ve just looked at for the used Daihatsu HiJet that we are shipping to Bristol (time for another pic)

are pretty well the same for all Japanese kei trucks built after October of 1998, when the government rules as regards Japanese light vehicles changed. You’ll find the spec tables for all three generations of keitora here on our main website. Do have a look in at this page because, in addition to the specification tables themselves, you’ll find a pack of information on the various models of kei trucks and their features, and a nice little image gallery of some of the more interesting kei truck modifications. Did you know that there are keitora fire trucks? And dump trucks? And kei trucks that are made so the whole load bed can be raised up pneumatically with four Japan Car Direct staff on board? Check out our Minitruck Options (Part 1) blog post to see that and more!

The World of Japanese Kei Vehicles

You’ll remember our little Japanese language lesson earlier: “kei” (軽) means “light” and it actually includes the whole category of kei cars that are within the Japanese government specs for size and engine capacity. Now, as far as size goes, all post October 1998 kei vehicles will have pretty much the same width and length as the keitora that we’ve just been looking at. You can call them the Third Generation Keis. Second Gen Keis will be a bit smaller: eight centimeters narrower and ten centimeters shorter, front to rear. All Second and Third Gen kei vehicles, also have the same engine size: 660cc. The First Generation kei vehicles had 550cc engines and, although they are getting old now, they are quite respectable little machines. I’ve driven a number of them and, even today I would not turn my nose up at any 550cc kei. I especially had a blast driving the super excellent First Gen Suzuki Alto Works. (Have a look at our four-part JCD Blog series on Japanese Kei Sports Cars: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4.)

(And, while you are looking at our blog and thinking about importing a used minitruck to the UK, don’t miss our series on “What is the Best Kei Truck to Export from Japan?” Just click for Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4. Good road!)

But other than the regulations regarding exterior dimensions and engine capacity, the world of Japanese kei vehicles is very wide. You’ll find all types, from hatchback (three or five door), to sedan bodies (very rare, actually; only the Daihatsu Opti comes to mind), to vans, to pickup trucks, to sports cars. They are all very economical and quite capable little machines. I have owned, driven, and used many of them. Just off the top of my head, I’ve had three kei hatchbacks, a Daihatsu Mira, a Mitsubishi Minica, and another Daihatsu Mira; which I’m driving today and never want to sell!.

I’ve had four off road kei cars: three Jimnys (check out our Suzuki Jimny models on the main Japan Car Direct website; the flat desert tan coloured SJ10 Jimny is mine, yeah!) and a Mitsubishi Pajero Mini; which I’m driving today and never want to sell!.

I’ve had a Subaru Sambar Diaz van; which I am no longer driving and regret selling!

I’ve had the use of my father-in-law’s two Honda Acty minitrucks; which, regrettably, he is no longer using after retiring from farming. I don’t know what I miss more, Dad’s excellent home grown potatoes,

or the use of his keitora.

And I’ve tremendously enjoyed driving some of my friends’ kei sports cars: Suzuki Cappuccinos and Honda Beats.

What I’m getting at here is that Japanese kei vehicles, not just kei trucks, are really excellent. I’ve had good experience with them. They are capable, simple, cheap to run, and FUN!

Kei Cars for Our Real World of Hard(er) Times

Now, these days, if you believe the news, everything seems to be going to pot: war, social crisis, inflation, petrol prices through the roof, whatever; you name it. It’s all crap now, right?…..But you know what? I’m old enough now to claim the internationally recognized status of “old fart” and I’ve seen a lot of it all before and I’ve learned that, by putting our resources to the best use, we can still have good lives and good times. For me, Japanese kei cars have been one of the best uses I’ve ever made of my limited resources; they are helping me to weather inflation and high gas prices right now, that’s for sure. And the fun I’ve had in them sure helps me to put crises and problems in perspective.

And here is another Japanese language lesson for you; “Kei-de juubun.” (軽で十分) It’s what many of the kei vehicle owners here say, and I say it, too. It means “A kei car is sufficient for me.”

So, Kei Trucks to the UK Today. What Do You Say?

I say yes.

If you are saying the same, just sign up on our auction registration page and let’s work together to get you a good used Japanese minitruck, kei truck, keitora direct from Japan to the United Kingdom.

Postscript: Of course, you don’t have to live in the UK to be able to import a clean secondhand keitora or other good Japanese car or JDM car (to learn what JDM is all about, check out our JDM Vehicles page) from us here at Japan Car Direct. We have customers all around the world with many of them being in the USA, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Germany, the UAE, and Ireland as well as the UK. To find the used car import rules for these countries, just click on the country name, and for other countries not listed, just look on our Japan Car Direct main website here.

And for our customers in Ireland who are looking to get a good little keitora, a fine little minitruck direct from Japan, keep in mind the system that Irish Tax and Customs has at the moment of classifying these used kei trucks and other used vehicles imported directly from Japan as goods of “Japanese Preferential Origin.” You’ll save even more of your “valuable resources” using this system. You’ll find the document from Irish Tax and Customs that explains it all here.