- Colorado Governor Jared Polis signed HB25-1281 into law today, officially allowing the state’s residents to register and drive kei vehicles.
- Kei cars, a class of small four-wheel vehicles from Japan, can be brought into the U.S. under the 25-year import rule.
- Until now, Colorado lacked kei-specific regulations, creating a bit of a gray area for owners.
Score another one for the little guys. Today, Colorado Governor Jared Polis signed into law HB25-1281, which officially recognizes kei vehicles as road-legal in the state and puts in place the necessary framework for their titling, registration, and use.For the uninitiated, kei is short for kei-jidōsha, a Japanese term that translates to “light vehicle.” Japanese regulators limit kei cars, trucks, and vans in engine size and output as well as exterior dimensions—length, width, and height—although the maximum values for each have changed over the years. Because these tiny vehicles weren’t sold new in the United States, they can only be brought into the country under the 25-year import rule, which allows vehicles with non-compliant safety and emissions equipment to be given a pass if they’re over a quarter-century old. Popular examples include the Honda Acty pickup and van, the Suzuki Cappuccino, and the Autozam AZ-1.Bring a TrailerThe new law comes with some stipulations. Kei vehicles cannot be driven on roads with speed limits above 55 mph. This is sensible, since these low-powered vehicles have trouble maintaining high speeds on flat ground, let alone at altitude going up a grade on I-70.The law also clarifies how emissions testing will work for kei vehicles; instead of being subjected to a dynamometer test, the state’s emissions agency will use a static two-speed idle test, which is otherwise used on vehicles from model year 1981 and prior.The law also explicitly recognizes keis as motor vehicles for the purposes of the Uniform Motor Vehicle Law and the Certificate of Title Act. The bill had bipartisan co-sponsorship in both state houses. There are still some issues that can bridge the widening aisles of our legislatures.When we asked Gov. Polis if he had anything to say to other states that haven’t yet joined the bandwagon, he said, “I hope they join the club. We’re excited in Colorado that now Coloradoans have another vehicle choice to get where they want to go. And I would encourage other states to take the same step.”From Quasi-Legal to Officially Official Colorado has had an on-again, off-again relationship with kei legality recently. Until now, there have been no kei-specific regulations on the books. A rule proposed by the state’s Division of Motor Vehicles in 2024 would have put an outright ban on them and could have prevented registration of other “non-traditional” vehicle types; it was rescinded, with the DMV arguing that it was unnecessary, as kei vehicles were already illegal in its view.This rule was backed by lobbyists from a group called the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators and would have deferred to AAMVA guidance when deciding which vehicles the state would allow to be registered. The AAMVA is also behind proposed kei bans in other states, including Georgia, Maine, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. David Gluckman|Car and DriverAAMVA’s argument is that kei vehicles are intended for off-road use only. It also appears to conflate kei vehicles with mini-trucks, some of which are intended only for off-road use. But not all keis are trucks, and even the little JDM pickups are legal for on-road use in their homeland.For those who have tried to register keis in the state, the main sticking point was emissions testing, which is required in certain counties, most of them in the Front Range, where much of the state’s residents (and their emitting vehicles) are located. Unfortunately, some would-be kei drivers learned of this too late; it was possible to get a temporary plate for a kei vehicle, but without passing the emissions exam, these owners couldn’t get their mini automobile registered. Tales of palm-greasing and dubious registration tactics abound on Reddit. In counties that don’t require emissions testing as part of the vehicle registration process, this was a non-issue.Where Keis are OkayColorado joins 29 other states that have laws allowing kei vehicles on public roads. They are: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.Elana Scherr|Car and DriverLike Colorado, some locales restrict which roads kei vehicles can use based on speed limit, with a handful kept to roads with 25-mph-or-lower maxes. Even where keis are deemed legal, there may be additional hurdles to clear for registration or restrictions placed on their road use, which can vary by jurisdiction, so be sure to do your homework before pressing “Buy It Now” on that auction. In New Hampshire, for example, a kei vehicle can only travel within a 25-mile radius of its owner’s residence and only on roads with a speed limit of 35 mph or less.Several states—Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, and West Virginia—have restrictions in place, many of them specific to kei trucks, which may be limited to farm or agricultural use. New York requires compliance with all applicable Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards and emissions requirements, which requires expensive retrofit work and is therefore prohibitive, especially since many keis can be bought and imported for several thousand dollars. Rhode Island is already starting to clamp down on kei registrations while legislation is pending.The states of Alaska, Delaware, and Hawaii, as well as Washington, D.C., have no laws concerning kei vehicles. And then there are the states where kei registration is explicitly prohibited: Connecticut, Georgia, Iowa, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, and Vermont.More About Kei TrucksEver since David was a wee Car and Driver intern, he has kept a spreadsheet listing all the vehicles he’s driven and tested. David really likes spreadsheets. He can parallel-park a school bus and once drove a Lincoln Town Car 63 mph in reverse. After taking a break from journalism to work on autonomous vehicles, he’s back writing for this and other automotive publications. When David’s not searching for the perfect used car, you can find him sampling the latest in gimmicky, limited-edition foodstuffs.
Source: caranddriver.com
