Here’s something we definitely didn’t have on our bingo cards for 2026: Toyota will not only officially sell a kei car in the United States, but it will be made in the USA too. Furthermore, it’s going to be named the Scion Kei-01, resurrecting Toyota’s defunct brand of youth-oriented, highly moddable compacts that was discontinued in 2016.
Firstly, the Scion Kei-01 is indeed a genuine kei jidosha. It’s powered by a 660cc three-cylinder engine and sized to conform to Japanese kei car dimensions. In fact, it’s a rebadged Daihatsu Hijet Jumbo, an extended-cab version of the standard 10th-generation Hijet, the ubiquitous kei workhorse already sold in Japan.
For years we’ve been told that kei cars don’t meet US regulations, so how can Toyota sell the Scion here legally? Well, it conforms to FMVSS No. 500, the federal safety requirements for LSVs (low-speed vehicle), which include golf carts and micro-shuttles. This means top speed is limited to 25 mph, wheres a Japanese Hijet Jumbo tops out at over 70 mph. As such, highways will be off-limits for the Scion and it will remain right-hand-drive.
Also, Toyota will make the truck available only through fleet sales, at least initially. Customers will be able to buy them through select Toyota dealers authorized to sell the Scion brand. If there’s demand, Toyota says it may consider selling them to retail customers at a later date.
The Scion will come with 4WD standard and a continuously variable automatic transmission, though in Japan 2WD and manual transmissions are available. The truck features a versatile three-way fold-down bed and low floor height, which can accommodate payloads of up to 600-pounds. And as internet memes will tell you, the flat area of the bed size is the same as that of a crew-cab Ford F-150 (more if you count the cab cutout.
Inside, the Kei-01 is a time warp. The Hijet Jumbo was introduced in 2014, and its interior is definitely of that era, in a good way. Controls are pleasantly simple, with old school climate control sliders and red/blue markings. Window up/down switches look straight out of my ’97 Lexus.
Beyond the Kei-01, the revived Scion brand is what Toyota calls a “freedom lab” that “builds on the experimental spirit associated with the original Scion, reimagined for a new generation.” Alongside the truck Scion showed the BKE Concept, a foldable electric bike reminiscent of the Honda Motocompacto, and the SxS Concept, a 300-horsepower side-by-side built for desert running and rock crawling.
Toyota hasn’t announced US pricing for the Scion Kei-01 yet, but a Hijet Jumbo starts at ¥1.419 million (approximately $8950 USD) in Japan. Production will begin at Toyota’s plant near Princeton, Indiana starting in the second half of 2027.
Images courtesy of Toyota.
