The Kei trucks are a less than ideal, last ditch response to a market that had failed a lot of consumers.

Look for those profiting from the status quo to do everything possible outside of the market to stop it.

You find this everywhere there is a centralized "authority". Incumbants use every trick to keep their tribe in power at the expense of what that central power was nominally "supposed to do".

The purpose of the system is what it does. The purpose of seemingly all regulatory institutions is to gain and maintain power for the tribe in power.

I mean not really since they are imported used vehicles from Japan

These trucks are illegal to sell new in the states

Japanese producers aren’t designing these vehicles with American second hand JDM import buyers in mind

Kei-truck manufacturers make no profit off this US uptick and consumers are at best irritated and at worst paying import fees because their domestic producers refuse to meet their needs and force them to cough up more cash for a vacuously useful and environmentally harmful oversized utility vehicles

Markets can work, this is a clear example of it breaking down (for the US) and a sign the government should step in to steer the - arguably flailing - market

You're suggesting government step in and stop the market from adapting around existing regulation? But that's how we got where we are right now. If government weren't in the way we'd have even more happy buyers.

You point out US consumers might be annoyed at bad local options and are looking elsewhere then suggest that this is a failure of the market when in fact it is this market action that permits the consumer to find a better solution for their problems. All government can do if they "step in" is make this even harder.

You cannot Force a market.

You are making it sound like the Kei market makes more than just a very very tiny portion of total sold trucks in the US. Its not, it is very much a niche market.

To be clear, the small number is the amount of people who are willing to jump through hoops and legal loopholes to actually import one. The actual number of people who would chose one of these over a Ford at their local dealer is likely orders of magnitude higher.

To be clear you are completely materializing that with any data. The data we do have are import numbers. You say it’s a lot of hoops but looks like you can buy one of these sub 10k from an importer. No hoops and in a reasonable price point. Supply and import demand paints the picture.

And yet we're discussing the phenomenon online and arguing about it on our niche platform..

> And yet we're discussing the phenomenon online and arguing about it on our niche platform..

What is your point? I am simply stating that you are overstating the actual market share of this demand. I don't disagree, modern trucks are comically too large but Kei trucks are not a response to it.

I don't think I stated the size or proportions of the market.