Kei-car is the English term used for a class of Japense “light vehicles” known as keijidōsha or 軽自動車
Class was created in 1949 to stimulate the use of small sensible cars
Kei-cars have/had all sorts of tax, insurance and parking benefits
Class does still exist but the incentives were significantly reduced in 2014
Can be any type of vehicle such as normal private car, sports car, pickup truck, commercial vehicle or SUV
But he kei-car has restrictions in dimensions and engine size. In BOLD are the restrictions applicable for the Honda Beat
Private vehicles carry yellow license plates with black characters in Japan
Commercial vehicles carry black licence plates with yellow characters in Japan
Date
Max length
Max width
Max Height
8th jul 1949
280cm
100cm
200cm
26th jun 1950
300cm
130cm
200cm
1st jan 1976
320cm
140cm
200cm
1st jan 1990
330cm
140cm
200cm
1st oct 1998
340cm
148cm
200cm
Maximum dimensions for a Kei-car
Date
Max displacement (four stroke)
Max Power
8th jul 1949
150cc
2nd jun 1950
300cc
16th aug 1951
360cc
1th jan 1976
550cc
1th jan 1990
660cc
64hp
Max engines size for a Kei-car
Note: The 64hp power limit is a voluntary limit set by the Japan Automobile Manufacturers' Association (JAMA) in a 'gentlements agreement'. It is not a legal limit according to several sources.
