<div id="readability-page-1"><figure> <figcaption> This picture taken on August 31, 2017 shows Honda Motor's new N-BOX mini-vehicles at its headquaters in Tokyo. </figcaption> </figure> Tiny kei trucks from Japan have a new fan: President Donald Trump. Trump expressed admiration for the pint-sized autos during a briefing with reporters to announce his plan to gut fuel economy standards. “They’re very small. They’re really cute,” Trump said. “And I said, how would that do in this country? And everyone seems to think, good, but you’re not allowed to build them.” Kei vehicles, which are built to satisfy Japan’s light vehicle regulations, are enjoying surging popularity in the automarket — including here in the US. Sales of kei trucks tripled in the last five years, with around 7,500 total imported just last year, according to data from Japan Used Motor Vehicle cited by CNN. <figure><blockquote>“They’re very small. They’re really cute.”</blockquote></figure> Comparing them to the Volkswagen Beetle, Trump said he was authorizing the US Department of Transportation “to immediately approve the production of those cars.” “He gave me the directive to clear the regulations on this, which we have,” US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said at the briefing. “And so if Toyota or any other company wants to make smaller, more affordable cars, fuel efficient, we have cleared the deck so they can make them in America and sell them in America.” A spokesperson for USDOT did not immediately respond to questions about what specific authorization Trump gave Duffy. Indeed, the regulation around the legality of kei vehicles in the US is spotty. Federal rules allow for the import of mini trucks so long as they are 25 years or older, while state laws surrounding their on-road legality and registration are less clear. The vehicles would also need to comply with the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, which dictates everything from steering wheel placement to vehicle weight. That said, many states have rules allowing low-speed vehicles like golf carts, so its conceivable that kei trucks could slip through under those provisions. Whether they would sell, though, is another question. Kei vehicles, short for “keitora,” meaning “light truck,” have strict guidelines around engine, size, and power limits. And while they certainly have a following in the US, they are probably too small for the majority of American buyers. That said, they have a small but growing fan base in the US, specifically because they represent an antidote to the giant SUVs and trucks that dominate our roads today. On Instagram and other social platforms, enthusiasts sell kei merch and post memes to tens of thousands of followers. Of course, the purpose of the briefing was to announce the rollback of strict fuel efficiency rules put in place by the Biden administration. Trump said the goal was to make cars more affordable, but most experts predict that any savings from lower-priced vehicles will be offset by higher fuel costs over time.</div>

CARS

特朗普总统对日本的轻型卡车表示赞赏，称其为 “可爱”，并宣布计划通过放宽法规来允许在美国生产轻型卡车。轻型卡车因其小巧和燃油效率高而受到欢迎，但在美国面临监管挑战。特朗普的指令旨在使汽车更具可负担性，但专家警告可能会导致燃油成本上升。轻型卡车在美国有一小部分追随者，与主导市场的大型车辆形成对比

特朗普邀请 ‘可爱’ 的日本轻型卡车进入美国市场