Toyota, Suzuki, & Daihatsu Preview New ‘Kei EV’ Trio Ahead of Japan Debut

In today’s environmental-conscious times, Kei cars posit themselves as the viable solution for personal transportation means. These cars are small yet boast enough room for both private and commercial usage, fuel-powered yet their ICEs are so small and efficient that you won’t leave substantial carbon footprints when using them.

In an attempt to further future-proof Kei cars, three manufacturers – Toyota, Suzuki and Daihatsu – have joined forces to preview new all-electric variants of their respective Kei van models. Previewed at a special event organised by the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA), these ‘kei EV’ prototypes are all based on the current-gen Daihatsu Hijet kei commercial van, with both the Suzuki and Toyota ones being its rebadged twins.

Visually, the Toyota Pixis, Suzuki Every and Daihatsu Hijet look somewhat similar to their ICE counterparts, with the exception of the EV charging port, which is located at the front bumper, as well as the absence of exhaust. Being a commercial kei van, all three models feature the typical boxy kei car silhouette, while sporting less quirky design compared to other fancy kei cars out there.

All three marques have yet to unveil the exact details on the powertrain specs of all these three models, except for the fact that the EV powertrain is jointly-developed by them, expected to boast at least 200 KM of maximum travel range. With all three of these kei EVs underpinning the same DNGA platform we’ve seen in many ICE models, perhaps this will prompt Daihatsu and Toyota to develop more electrified models based on this platform.

The final production version of these kei EVs will be unveiled later this year, although we suspect that they won’t veer much from these concepts previewed here. And just like their ICE counterparts, these electric kei vans will be manufactured by Daihatsu in Japan. When launched, this trio of kei EV vans will go against the likes of Mitsubishi Minicab MiEV and the upcoming Honda N-Van, in this relatively new kei EV segment.