For American kei car owners, the last few years have been tough. Many have been hit with surprise registration bans, and faced all kinds of struggles in dealing with hostile bureaucracies intent on demonizing their legally imported vehicles. For those in the state of Colorado, though, salvation is in sight, with a new law giving kei cars the legal status they deserve.
Colorado governor Jared Polis signed a new bill, HB25-1281, into law on Friday. The new legislation officially recognizes the status of kei vehicles, defining them as motor vehicles under the Uniform Motor Vehicle Law and the Certificate of Title Act. Long story short, it says kei cars are cars and that they can be registered for use on the roads of Colorado.
It’s not an instant win—the bill will not go into effect until July 1, 2027. Regardless, it’s a positive result for kei owners, who now have a perfectly legal route to register and operate their vehicles on the roads of Colorado.
For kei enthusiasts in Colorado, it’s been a long road to acceptance. As we’ve reported previously, in 2024, kei owners had reported Colorado state DMV offices quietly denying emissions testing and refusing to register their vehicles without explanation, despite the lack of any official policy against kei vehicles. The state then attempted to firmly enforce this policy in the open, only to back down amidst heavy opposition from enthusiasts. Then the state continued its ban, but quietly.
Now, a resolution to this quagmire is finally on the horizon, with the status of kei cars properly enshrined in the law. The bill defines kei cars very specifically. To classify as a “kei vehicle,” it must have an internal combustion engine under 1.0-liter in displacement, or an electrical motor of 56 kW (75 hp) or less. It can also measure no longer than 140 inches, and no wider than 67 inches, with a minimum top speed requirement of 50 miles per hour. The legislation also mandates vehicles have enclosed passenger cabins and four or more tires in contact with the ground.
Under the bill, kei vehicles won’t have exactly the same status as regular USDM vehicles. Driving kei cars on limited-access highways or roads with limits posted higher than 55 miles per hour will be prohibited. Violating this will be a Class B traffic infraction in Colorado. These are considered minor infractions without jail time; typical penalties include fines from $15 to $100 plus surcharges, and no license points.
As for emissions testing, keis will be treated as a special case. Instead of the standard dynamometer emissions test, kei vehicles will be subject to a two-speed idle test, as the Colorado DMV typically requires for pre-1981 vehicles. The vehicle will still need to pass emissions requirements for the year of its manufacture. Denial of emissions testing was a hurdle that was keeping many kei cars off the roads. Now that proper procedure has been ratified, that won’t be a problem going forward.
There are also protections to stop prejudiced officials from causing issues for kei cars when it comes to inspections. Basically, the state isn’t allowed to deem your kei unroadworthy because of how it was built. As per the Colorado legislature:
The department of revenue, the Colorado state patrol, and the agents or contractors of these agencies may not require a vehicle to have an inspection because it is a kei vehicle or has the design or manufacturing parameters of a kei vehicle. And a kei vehicle may not be declared not roadworthy because of its design or manufacturing parameters.
There is also one further hurdle to clear. The act will take effect on July 1, 2027, except if a referendum petition is filed pursuant to the state constitution within 90 days of the final adjournment of the general assembly (which is slated for some time in May 2026). In that case, the act won’t take effect unless approved at the November 2026 midterm election. It seems unlikely to happen, but it’s never wise to count your kei cars before they’ve hatched, so the saying goes.
State of Play
In welcoming the kei car, Colorado follows the fine example of states like North Carolina, Texas, Massachusetts, and Michigan. In virtually all cases, the hard work of enthusiasts has been key in getting these vehicles officially accepted by state officials. As our own Mercedes Streeter has explored previously, these cases have been fought against lobbyists like the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA), which has long tried and succeeded in getting the imported vehicles classified as “off-road vehicles” to keep them off the streets.
Unfortunately, in many states, lobbying from the AAMVA has been remarkably effective at demonizing the kei car. A long list of states has responded by banning or restricting the use of these vehicles on public roads. Rhode Island, New York, Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Illinois are all states that have come down hard against kei cars, but the fight is ongoing. Pro-kei enthusiasts already have a bill in play in Georgia, albeit with heavy restrictions, while enthusiasts in other states are continuing to organize to effect change.
The simple fact is that kei vehicles aren’t deserving of the hate they’ve received. They’re small and low-powered, but that has never been a valid reason to outright ban a vehicle from the roadways. Indeed, in virtually all cases, these vehicles were maligned for no good reason, as we’ve reported previously.
Wherever you live, it’s worth noting that laws regarding these vehicles remain patchy and varied across the United States. Just because the 25-year rule might get your old kei car in the country, it doesn’t mean that your home state will necessarily let you register it for the road. It’s worth looking into the current state of play before you set your heart (and bank account) on acquiring some diminutive Japanese metal. If you believe in the value of these beautiful little vehicles, though, you might consider putting your strength towards the efforts for kei liberty across the land.
Image credits: Daihatsu, Subaru, Mitsubishi, State of Colorado
Top graphic images: Daihatsu, depositphotos.com
Enclosed cab? Where does that leave Honda Beats, or Suzuki Cappuccinos?
Great news! Can we do Oregon next please? Currently we have (from the DMV website):
“Though many kei class vehicles can be imported, they cannot be titled or registered in Oregon because they were not manufactured for U.S. highways. Mini-trucks can be titled if they meet the definition of a class IV ATV (ORS 801.194[2]).”
So best case, it’s an off-road buggy you can trailer to certain trails. Again, not a law, just a policy.
So what you’re saying is DON’T stage formal protests outside the various AAMVA Conferences in Vermont or Tampa in May, June, or July of this year and ask the officials on record why they h a t e the auto enthusiast community in the style of evangelical preachers outside major events, got it! 🙂
I figured they would put restrictions based on speed. I think 65 would have been more appropriate but I guess they don’t want them on any portions of interstate but even some secondary roads and some that would be considered stodes or perhaps parkways have 55 or 65 mph speed limits. Even most frontage roads have a 55 speed limit. It would have been more effective just to say interstate. Lots of slow traffic on the frontage roads , strodes and parkway style roads. Also some issues with some roads that go from 30mph to 60 MPH then back down to 30 all within a few miles. Doesn’t make alot of sense and sounds like someone maybe doesn’t know many areas they are supposed to be representing.
It’s good news for people in Colorado (but surely, not allowing the cars to drive on roads with posted speed limits higher than 55 MPH is going to be a PITA, right? Lots of highways have speed limits of 65MPH or a bit higher… keeping a kei car off these roads completely seems excessive. Why not allow them but restrict them to the right lane only, or maybe require them to have their lights/flashers on or something? I think that would be better than penalizing them if they’re caught on a road with a speed limit above 55 MPH.
But more importantly, this ‘patchwork’ approach to legislation about kei cars (and other more vital things, like DUI penalties, etc…) on a state-by-state basis is foolish and wasteful and confusing. Kei car registration ought to be FEDERALLY MANDATED so that people are still free to travel and move from state to state without hassle about what vehicle they happen to drive.
I live in California (and I really like it here despite some issues) which is by far the most heavily populated state in America (something like 1 out of 9 of all Americans ARE Californians) and it’s also (by far) the single largest economy among US states, and you basically can’t register/insure a kei car here at all… I’ve seen a few CA plates on such cars and don’t really know how they got them… most keis at car shows (like the big JDM show in Long Beach each summer) have plates from other states.
It irks me. 🙁 A lot. >-(
Better late than never, I guess.
A couple of questions about these little guys…
First what is the correct/preferred pronunciation of “Kei?”
Secondly, since many of these (pretty much all of the ones I see in Washington state) are RHD, do owners need to make changes to the headlights to avoid blinding oncoming drivers?
I always assumed it was pronounced like “kay”, but curious myself.
I think that’s the closest English analogue. It’s similar but slightly different than that.
As near as makes no difference. “ke” as in kept, “i” as in igloo, with no kind of glottal stop in between. Put ’em together and what have you got?
The difference is small enough not to matter to someone whose primary language is English, when speaking in English. We all know what we’re talking about.
If your goal is to speak Japanese without an accent, there is a subtle but noticeable difference. For me, I prefer knowing the native pronunciation as carefully as I can learn it, not that I actually use it in conversations. Although I know a bit, I’m nowhere near fluent in Japanese.
I have lived in Japan for decades and Japanese is my daily language. The pronunciation, at least in southern British English, is as near as makes no difference.
This gives me hope. I often hear differences I’m not quite capable of emulating fully.
I always pronounced it like Kay cars and typically nobody will say otherwise. And typically not due to their size the headlights are usually a non issue.
No one has ever flashed their headlights at me, but then again, I rarely drive my kei car at night – the potholes here in NYC can easily swallow a kei.
And it is silly since most interstate highways are posted with a minimum speed of 40. So I could legally drive anything at a lower speed than one might typically drive a Kei vehicle.
Are Colorado’s state highways posted with 60 or 65 limits? If not, that might at least make things tolerable.
The comments I was reading on a youtube video were all demanding they codify ex-military vehicles next.
Sort of a somewhat win. The size restrictions are crazy… if I was to buy a used Geo Metro in Canada, it would become a kei car. Most kei cars are 1395mm wide, 1475mm since October 1998 (55, 58 inches). The engines are no bigger than 660cc, why one litre?
Can’t wait to see what classic Mini owners make of this, as many of their cars should no longer be allowed on highways.
I would assume that if said classic Mini was sold in the US, it would be covered by the existing regulations. But uhhhh that’s based on zero research.
Minis were not sold in the US for many decades – I actually know several people who own imported classic Minis in Colorado, one or two of them with the 998cc engine.
I am the owner of an imported classic Mini in Colorado. Luckily, I’ve got a big 1293cc engine. I may have to start carrying proof of displacement to allow me to drive on the interstate!
Meanwhile, my 1967 Land Rover doesn’t like going much faster than 55, but the interstate is how I get to Moab if the Dolores river is too deep to ford!
I once test drove a 998cc Mini with dubious paperwork somewhere south of Limon, CO. Would have been fun but I am glad I held back!
There is plenty of above kei car but kei like w a 1l engine in japan. Expecting a bottom.feeder to have 1.6l or more like what was shipped to America is futile.
But if it is above 660cc, it is not a kei car. There is actually very few one-litre cars in Japan, because kei cars have so many tax advantages that the next viable segment is 1.3-liter cars.
My point is that the random dimensions they laid down would make a Geo Metro a kei car. And Citroën 2CVs, and a Fiat 127, and an Abarth 850TC, and any number of other things.
1 July 2027? That’s pretty long time…
I was thinking the same thing. Kids, we’re going to Disney World, in two years. Why are you crying?
We have the same restriction in NC. I have never seen it enforced and kei vehicles are becoming very popular around here. Many kei owners I know do prefer to avoid the Interstates. Then again many motorcyclists do too.
Great to see progress being made on this somewhere. Hopefully other states continue to follow suit.
they will be banned again once a few teenagers buy them and die
In my county at least, with Colorado’s screwed up tax legislation, the cops can’t afford to enforce it.
I don’t consider this a win. If the Kei car can do the speed limit on a road it should be allowed on said road.
nvm
A great many native American market vehicles from the late ’70s and into the ’80s would have similar “lack of acceleration” issue.
Quite true. The storied slant6 was designed in a time when cruising speeds were more often 45ish. Not saying the early Darts & Valiants can’t do 70–but I’ve been in a couple that were more comfortable at 50-55 when going distances
My 75 D100 truck had a slant six, and it could go 70, albeit for a short time as the radiator was undersized and the temps would slowly creep up. The solution was to put a V8 radiator in it, but at the time the speed limit was 55 so it didn’t matter that much. If they can push a brick of a Dodge truck to 70, then surely an Aspen or Volare will go faster.
Oh, yeah. My grandmother’s 75ish Volare would definitely do 70. In the 90s I knew a guy who had multiple 70s Darts that would easily go 70+, but he readily admitted the fuel mileage suffered above 65. If he was going any distance on the interstate he’d just take the Swinger. I’m not condemning the slant at all—but it was originally designed back when interstates weren’t really a thing
My Honda Beat is faster to 60 mph (12 seconds) than my Smart 450 gasser (16 seconds), my Smart 450 diesel (20 seconds), and my former Mercedes-Benz 240D (23 seconds), all of which are legal to use any highway in America. The Beat also has the same electronically limited top speed as those two Smarts. I’m also pretty sure my Honda Beat would outrun Jason’s Beetle any day of the week.
The problem, I think, is that American lawmakers still don’t understand Keis. Yes, the really old ones aren’t fast and have pitiful top speeds. But the more modern ones, which can be imported right now, aren’t any slower than many vintage American market vehicles. But maybe it’s easier to just write a blanket law rather than trying to parse out which vehicles can do what.
The longer I’m thinking about this, the more I’m thinking the speed component isn’t even that necessary. Most of the highways I’ve been on have minimum speeds, anyway. So a Kei that can’t go faster than 55 would be illegal, just like a Ford Model T would be.
I’d be fine with it. Sure it would be nice to be unlimited, but these cars aren’t great at doing speeds higher than that. Yes most can do 70, but my van can do 110, doesn’t mean it likes it or that it’s something I should do for long distance. And most interstates also have a lower speed side road traveling the same way, so I don’t think you’ll be trapped with this. For instance, Denver to CO Springs has at least 2 highways that look to be 55mph that connect them without going on I-25
Who wants to get from town to town in one piece? I would feel very uncomfortable on a 75PMH highway in a kei car that can’t keep up with traffic that is doing anywhere from 75 to 95.
My 2CV was fine in 80-90mph traffic, despite its top speed of 70ish depending on wid direction and gradient.
Kei cars have way more power than a 2CV and I suspect less drag too. If my high-school girlfriend was ok driving on motorways in her Fiat 126 then Kei cars will be fine.
Fun fact: in the UK we hold bicycle time trials on 70mph public roads, which means having to change lanes to avoid bikes at a closing speed of 50mph. Surprisingly few deaths.
My Honda Beat will cruise at an electronically limited 83 mph all day, the same top speed as my two first gen Smarts that are allowed on all types of roads no matter the posted speed limit.
It’s really only the older Keis that can’t keep up with traffic. For example, my older Suzuki Every van has a top speed of around 73 mph due to its crazy short gearing. The engine has more in it, but the gearing has it banging off the rev limiter. So cruising speed is more like 60 mph.
I would guess the restriction has a direct link back to lawmakers not understanding that there are other vehicles besides kei trucks. Someone can correct me if I’m wrong but I’ve read numerous places that a lot of 25 year legal kei trucks aren’t too happy going above 50-55 even if they are technically capable of it.
A really dumb restriction.
But will it cruise at 83 mph at 5000 feet elevation, like they have in Denver? The engine is gonna feel a bit weak in the thin air.
Altitude matters a good bit. 0ft is a ton more power than the 5,2xx of Denver.
That said even my 1985 brat w a lake of gas in the intake could do 55mph.
When I owned a 1986 Subaru wagon in CO, I’d just get on the interstate and pin the throttle until I got to my destination. It could usually do 55, but not usually 75. Climbing the big passes, I had to watch the mirror for semis.
do you feel better knowing that many don’t have air bags or crumple zones that you get in a normal car built in the last 30 years?
Um, 25 years old so most in this era still have air bags that kill you America side.
My MGB has 62 HP and will keep up with highway traffic just fine, when it’s running.
Safety arguments? Well, we allow motorcycles on the highways, and many states don’t even require helmets.
I love how the argument is always that we allow people to kill themselves by other means, so why not allow these shitty little cars on the road
amercians barely maintain their shitty nissans driving with a donut on the highway, and you want to give them even cheaper shitboxes on the roads?
I still find it funny in the worst way that Georgia has cities/towns built around the use of golf carts yet they won’t allow Kei’s to be registered (yet).
You’ve got to convince the retirees that are using the golf carts that life would be better with a kei car! I’m not sure what the winning argument is there, though.
It’s Georgia: entice them with AC?
Or, am I ignorant of current carts with all the amenities?
-my area doesn’t have golf carts on the road (though you see some SxS here & there in more rural areas—just not legally afaik)
The new stuff I have no idea about. All the carts I have ever been in were open air so needless to say no AC except however fast you were going. But it wouldn’t surprise me if some of these new ones that are enclosed did have it.
I wouldn’t disagree. I am sure the size isn’t too far off either based off some of the jacked up ones with 20’s I see rolling around my area. Might be a tight fit for some of the sidewalks but who cares about pedestrians?
because they know their Polaris UTV is only allowed on roads up to 35 mph