Toyota is relaunching its defunct, formerly youth-oriented Scion brand not with sporty subcompacts, but with a modified kei-class truck based on the bones of the Daihatsu Hijet. Called the Kei-01, Toyota will assemble them in the US, and they will be classified as Low Speed Vehicles (LSV). Toyota is limiting sales to fleet customers only (think municipal governments, universities, farm and ranch operations) in the first phase of the roll-out, but they envision other markets as well depending on regulatory environments and demand. This includes, according to Toyota, “outdoor enthusiasts and hobbyists wanting a versatile utility vehicle.”
What does LSV classification mean? Vehicles under this federal category are not subject to crash safety regulations and are speed-limited to 25 mph. They require a driver’s license to operate, and they can use public roads, but only those posted at a maximum of 35 mph. This obviously heavily limits their scope of use, and the 140 km/h speedometer in the instrument panel will constantly remind you that drivers in other countries are allowed to treat these little runabouts like everyday, normal trucks.
Additional specs for the Kei-01 include a 660 cc three-cylinder engine, CVT automatic, selectable four-wheel drive, air conditioning, a three-way fold-down cargo bed, and 600 pounds of payload. The Kei-01 will also be right-hand drive, which makes the bank drive-through a little awkward, but you might get there faster by walking anyway. This is an interesting move on Toyota’s part. It’s a low-risk enterprise to test the commercial waters with a proven product in a new market. Modifications to its Indiana manufacturing facility where the Kei-01 will be assembled are only costing Toyota $34 million–a drop in the bucket for a company its size. Toyota intends the Kei-01 as something of an experiment to see how a profitable segment in other parts of the world might fare in the land of the HD pickup. No word yet on pricing.
But the new Scion–Scion by Toyota, formally–is not just a badge-engineering exercise for little trucks. Toyota is calling the enterprise a “freedom lab,” and they also announced two other concept models under the brand. The first is an electric “personal mobility scooter” designed for trail use called the BKE, and the other is a version of the SxS Concept that broke minds at SEMA last year. Featuring a 300-horsepower turbo hybrid engine and long-travel suspension, the SxS will also have silent-running mode for the electric half of the drivetrain for unbothered wilderness experiences. Now that will get you around the farm.
Visit Expedition Portal next week for hands-on impressions of Scion’s new vehicles.
Images: Toyota
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