Are Kei Cars Coming to the US? What's Legal in 2026
No new kei car is on sale in the US. Trump said in December 2025 that he had approved tiny cars to be built in America, but a November 7, 2026 search of the Federal Register found no NHTSA document mentioning kei vehicles or mini trucks since then. For road use, what you can buy is a kei car or truck at least 25 years old, and whether you can register it depends on your state: Texas passed a law in 2025 to register them, Colorado's takes effect July 1, 2027, and Iowa's code refuses registration without a federal safety label.