Japan has – as the confused reader of our monthly sales report from the Land of Nippon is woefully aware of – a two class car system. There are cars, and there are kei cars. Soon, there will be a three class system.
According to The Nikkei [sub], next year the Japanese government will introduce standards for “supercompacts.” Those are two-seat passenger cars, a class lower than minivehicles. Minivehicles, or kei cars, equipped with black-on-yellow tags, enjoy favorable tax and insurance treatment in Japan. They are limited by size and to a 0.66 liter engine.
The new “supercompact” two-seaters will not be allowed on highways. Because they aren’t, the thinking goes that they can be less crashworthy. Relaxed safety standards could lower their cost. Supposedly, there is “rising demand among people who drive only in the city and from older Japanese seeking an easy way to run neighborhood errands.”
According to The Nikkei, “domestic carmakers believe there is excellent potential demand for two-seaters. Not only do they appeal to elderly people looking for a convenient tool for running errands, but they also offer the benefit of lower carbon-dioxide emissions and can help ease traffic congestion in cities.”
They better check their ownership statistics.
The fortunes of minivehicles in Japan are fading. At one time, their combined share was 1/3 of Japan’s market. In the past years, they have not kept up with the market. What is particularly shocking is that minivehicles are predominantly a rural phenomenon in Japan. In rural areas with poor public transportation, over 90 percent of the households own a minivehicle. In cities like Tokyo, ownership drops to 10 percent. Here, you either own a real car, or none. As far as shopping goes: Even parking a bicycle turns into a problem.
Oh, I thought the new classes were Kei cars, regular cars, and 1972 Buick Electra 225…
Which would be a class of their own in downtown Tokyo anyway.
They used to be sold there!
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Kei cars are seriously scary. They make up for their lack of power by using less metal. Japanese newspapers often have photos of them torn into shreds from fairly low speed accidents. Usually the cars look like the are turned inside out.
I can’t see how the bar for this new class of cars could get any lower.
Nobody in your neighborhood has a NEV? That’s basically what Japan is talking about here.
There was a couple of NEV in few block radius of me before. But The Great Recession put an end to this. They are useless and expensive.
They used to be sold there!
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Whoa! That is big in Japan after all! ;P
If they made a car small enough to stand up in the entrance way of an apartment building that would be something,
It seems like everyone in Tokyo either don’t drive, or is ferried around in a blacked out Toyota Crown or Nissan Fuga, with the occasional Toyota Alphard. I rarely see many kei cars when I visit.
When in Tokyo, I saw how a speeding bicyclist t-boned a scooter. Truly terrifying. The scooter guy ended flying about 5 meters into the traffic.
If they made a car small enough to stand up in the entrance way of an apartment building that would be something.
Almost
http://www.toxel.com/tech/2010/06/05/worlds-smallest-cars/
Has this the same rules as European microcars?
(two seater, 45kmph)