Kei car is the smallest category of Japanese expressway-legal motor vehicles. The term kei is a shortening of kei-jidōsha,, which translates to English as “light vehicle”.
The Mazda Bongo, also known as Mazda E-Series, Eunos Cargo, and the Ford Econovan, is a cabover van and pickup truck manufactured by the Japanese automobile manufacturer Mazda since 1966. The Bongo name was also used for the Bongo Friendee, which is not a cabover design.
The Nissan AD is a subcompact van and wagon built by Nissan since 1982. The AD is sold under a different name when manufactured as a passenger car, called the Nissan Wingroad.
The Suzuki Wagon R is a kei car manufactured and marketed by Suzuki since 1993. The R in the name stands for Revolution and Relaxation. The Wagon R uses a "tall wagon" configuration to maximize cabin space within kei car dimensional restrictions. The Wagon R is also sold by Mazda as the AZ-Wagon from 1994 to 2012 and as the Flair from 2012.
The Daihatsu Hijet is a cab over microvan and kei truck produced and sold by the Japanese automaker Daihatsu since 1960. Despite the similarities between the Hijet name and Toyota's naming scheme for its trucks and vans, the name "Hijet" has been in use for Daihatsu's kei trucks and microvans since 1960, over two decades before Toyota took control. "Hijet", when transliterated into Japanese, is very similar to "Midget", one of Daihatsu's other mini-trucks. According to Daihatsu, the name "Hijet" was created to imply that the vehicle offers higher performance than the Midget. The Hijet competes in Japan with the Honda Acty, Mitsubishi Minicab, Nissan Clipper, Subaru Sambar and Suzuki Carry.
The Japan Mobility Show (ジャパンモビリティショー), called Tokyo Motor Show (東京モーターショー) (TMS) until 2019, is a biennial auto show held in October–November at the Tokyo Big Sight, Tokyo, Japan for cars, motorcycles and commercial vehicles. Hosted by the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA), it is a recognized international show by the Organisation Internationale des Constructeurs d'Automobiles, and normally sees more concept cars than actual production car introductions, which is the reason why the automotive press sees the show as one of the motorshow's big five.
The Mitsubishi eK is a kei car series from Mitsubishi Motors, based on the long-running Minica, and first introduced on October 11, 2001. The "eK" name is an abbreviation for "excellent keijidōsha" and is meant to be pronounced "ee kay", a pun which sounds like the Japanese いい軽, meaning "good kei [car]".
The Nissan Serena is a minivan manufactured by Nissan, joining the slightly larger Vanette. The car was engineered by Nissan's Aichi Manufacturing Division and launched in 1991 as a compact passenger van, and it grew larger with each generation over the years. Earlier versions were front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout with a live axle mounted on leaf springs, while the following generations are front-wheel drive or 4WD.
The Mitsubishi Minicab is a kei truck and microvan, built and sold in Japan by Japanese automaker Mitsubishi Motors since 1966. In Japan, it was sold at a specific retail chain called Galant Shop. It was also sold by China Motor Corporation (CMC) in Taiwan as the CMC Veryca, starting in 1985. A battery electric model of the Minicab, called the Minicab MiEV, is sold in the Japanese market since December 2011.
The Nissan Lafesta is a compact MPV built by Nissan mainly for the Japanese market.
The Suzuki MR Wagon is a 4-seater kei car manufactured by Suzuki for the Japanese market only, and also marketed in Japan by Nissan as the Nissan Moco under an OEM agreement. The model debuted in 2001, and since 2011 it has been in its third generation. The first generation was also produced and sold in India by Maruti Suzuki as Maruti Zen Estilo, which was launched in 2006, Maruti Zen Estilo was discontinued in 2009 and renamed as Maruti Estilo.
Subaru is the automobile manufacturing division of Japanese transportation conglomerate Subaru Corporation, the twenty-first largest automaker by production worldwide in 2017.
The Daihatsu Tanto Exe is a kei car manufactured by the Japanese carmaker Daihatsu. The Tanto Exe made its debut at the 2009 Tokyo Motor Show and was launched on 24 December 2009. It was also sold by Subaru as the Subaru Lucra, which was launched on 20 April 2010.
The Mazda Premacy is a passenger minivan that was built by the Japanese manufacturer Mazda from 1999 to 2018.
The Suzuki R engine is an inline-three engine that has been produced by Suzuki since 2011. Initially introduced in the third-generation MR Wagon, and intended as a replacement for the K6A engine, the R engine has since been used in various Suzuki's, such as the Alto, the Wagon R, and the Carry.
The Suzuki Spacia is a kei car produced by Suzuki. It was a replacement for the Suzuki Palette, which was discontinued in February 2013. It improves upon fuel efficiency, is lighter and features a larger cabin than its predecessor. The vehicle is also supplied to Mazda as the Mazda Flair Wagon.
NMKV Co., Ltd. is a joint venture company between Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. and Mitsubishi Motors in the Japanese market to design, develop, and manufacture kei cars under Nissan and Mitsubishi brands. The company currently produces Mitsubishi eK, Nissan Dayz, Mitsubishi eK Space and Nissan Roox for the domestic market. NMKV stands for Nissan Mitsubishi Kei Vehicle. Despite that, the abbreviation was never announced officially by the company.
The Suzuki K engine family is a series of automobile engines from Suzuki, introduced in 1994. Displacements range from 0.7 L to 1.5 L. All engines have aluminium cylinder blocks with three or four cylinders in-line. Cylinder heads have two overhead camshafts, driven by chain, and four valves per cylinder. Fuel is gasoline/petrol, metered by multipoint fuel injection or direct injection. Some variants are turbocharged.
Rear view
Suzuki Palette SW
Suzuki Palette SW
Mazda Flair Wagon
Nissan Roox
Nissan Roox Highway Star
2010 Suzuki Palette X interior
