Kei vehicles are a class of small Japanese-market cars, SUVs, trucks, and vans that conform to strict dimension and engine size regulations. Buyers in Japan are incentivized with lower taxes and insurance rates on the tiny transporters.
Kei (pronounced “k”) vehicles have never been sold new in the U.S., but under federal rules, they can be legally imported as long as they’re 25 years of age. However, not every state allows them to be registered for road use. Oregon has long prohibited kei vehicles from being street legal, but a new bill may change that.
An Oregon senate bill has been drafted, and it’s hot on the heels of Texas and Colorado reversing their bans on kei cars. These states, plus Massachusetts and Michigan, have all reversed course on kei vehicles in the last 8 months. Kei vehicles are legal in neighboring Washington state and California, though it is difficult to conform to California’s strict emissions standards.
Oregon may be the next state to have these vehicles on the streets if legislators and kei vehicle enthusiasts have anything to say about it.
Oregon Senate Bill 1213
Senate Bill 1213 was recently introduced by State Senator Anthony Broadman (D) and has bipartisan support, including from sponsors Senator David Brock Smith (R), Representative Emily McIntire (R), and Representative Hai Pham (D).
“Small businesses, farmers, and Oregonians across our state are asking for practical, cost-effective transportation options. Kei trucks are nimble, fuel-efficient, and ideal for navigating rural roads, job sites, and tight urban corridors. This legislation simply makes it legal to use a tool that’s already proving useful across the Pacific Northwest,” said Senator Broadman.
The bill gives specifics as to what a “kei truck” is. This includes the following:
- Being manufactured in Japan or South Korea
- Has an engine that has a piston or rotor displacement of 660 cubic centimeters (Note: This is the maximum displacement a kei car is allowed in Japan)
- Is 11 feet or less in length
- Is 4.9 feet or less in width
- Is 6.6 feet or less in height
- Has a model year that predates the current year by 25 years or more
There is no mention of any other kei body style, like cars, SUVs, or vans — just trucks. In Japan, all vehicle styles must conform to these specifications. Enthusiasts are pushing for the language of the bill to be changed to cover all kei vehicles, and not just those with truck beds.
There is, however, language appearing to call for limiting the vehicles to highways with 65 mph speed limits and under in Oregon. The bill reads, “A person commits the offense of unlawfully operating a Kei truck on a highway if the person operates a Kei truck on a highway that has a speed limit or posted speed that is greater than 65 miles per hour.”
It goes on to say that if someone is caught on a highway with a speed limit of more than 65 mph, it’s a Class-B traffic violation and punishable by a maximum fine of up to $1,000.
Additionally, SB 1213 states that kei vehicles will be $63 to register.
The 25-Year Rule & Kei Trucks
All kei vehicles have to conform to the U.S.’s 25-year import rule. Basically, any vehicle — including these — must be at least 25 years old to import if it was never subjected to federal U.S. safety and emissions testing.
Vehicle registration, however, is a state issue — as we found out with Maine and the Mitsubishi Delica. Plus, all states have their own rules as to what can and cannot be registered.
Oregon has been a holdout on street-legal kei vehicle registration, but this may change if SB 1213 passes both the Senate and House of Representatives and is signed by the Governor.
How the Oregon Kei Bill Came About: A Public Radio Story
The story about how this all started to come together in Oregon is interesting, if not serendipitous. In May 2025, Seattle’s public radio station, KUOW, did a story on kei truck culture in Seattle. In fact, I was interviewed for this story; the reporter thought I lived in Washington and owned a kei truck.
However, I informed them I was in Oregon and couldn’t register one even if I wanted to (which I do). Interested in this, I was cast as an Oregonian who cannot register a kei vehicle. This story was also covered on Oregon Public Broadcasting and National Public Radio.
Enter the JDM Oregon Advocates
Several days after the KUOW was released, I was made aware of JDM Oregon Advocates, a burgeoning organization hoping to get kei vehicles legally registered in the Beaver State. The group’s website has a well-written explanation of why keis should be made road legal, called “A Case for Consistent Kei Truck Policy in Oregon.” They also include a way for people to contact their representatives to advocate for their legalization.
The website and its “Case for Keis” explanation were done by fellow Oregonian, Aaron Williamson. He also set up the organization’s Facebook page and group. I had a few conversations with Aaron and learned about his desire to have a kei to help with his community garden plot.
Texas Blueprint
Shortly after meeting Williamson, I met Texas resident David McChristian. He’s the founder and president of the nonprofit Lone Star Kei. He was instrumental in getting Texas to reverse its ban on kei vehicles.
He provided Williamson and others with the blueprint that Texas and other states used to get kei vehicles road legal. McChristian was eager to share what Texans had done to get that state’s kei ban overturned.
“Since April of 2024, I’ve been trying to rally other states to fight back on the arbitrary kei bans across the country,” says McChristian. “People from Massachusetts, Michigan, Georgia, and Colorado (among many others) reached out to me for assistance in reversing their bans.”
McChristian helped organize advocacy groups and taught them about how and what they accomplished in Texas’s kei ban reversal. He points to Massachusetts and Colorado, which had the same success following the “Texas Blueprint,” as he called it.
“We will keep working until every state in the U.S. has allowed Kei vehicles on public roads,” stated McChristian.
Parallel Momentum From a Central Oregon Organizer
Within about 2 weeks of the public radio stories and not long after JDM Oregon Advocates’ debut, news broke of SB 1213 being drafted. The timing seemed inexplicitly coincidental, perhaps serendipitous.
The next day, I got an email from John Heylin of Bend, Ore. He owns Unofficial Logging Co., an axe-throwing bar, and is politically active there. Heylin was glad to hear about JDM Oregon Advocates, and has been lobbying for kei trucks for years. He also said he was one of the reasons Senator Broadman’s bill was drafted.
“I first brought it up about 3 years ago when I started getting politically active in Central Oregon,” says Heylin. “I brought [kei cars] up to [Senator Broadman] when he was a City Councilor in Bend.” Heylin states he brings up the topic to anyone who’ll listen.
He says Senator Broadman reached out to him about wording for a bill and kept highlighting Colorado and other states that recently passed pro-kei vehicle legislation.
“My drive to legalize Kei Trucks comes from a desire to provide cheaper options to working-class Oregonians,” Heylin says. “Right now, the cheapest new truck in the USA is around $30,000, and that’s just not attainable for some people.”
What Happens Next?
SB 1213 has been introduced, and there is discussion as to when it’ll be presented. The bill would also have to make it through the Oregon house before it would be sent to Governor Tina Kotek’s desk. However, the Oregon legislature adjourns June 29, so it’s unlikely we’d see it passing in 2025.
However, the groundwork has been laid, and other state representatives have expressed interest in supporting the bill. Now we’ll see if and when it’ll be voted on, and whether Oregon will become the next state to let people register kei vehicles for use on highways and byways, or at least those 65 mph and under.
Read the full article here
