From The Verge · Andrew J. Hawkins · · 1m 40s
Toyota revives Scion as a kei truck for American farms
Toyota is bringing back the Scion brand with an Indiana-built Japanese-style mini truck, targeting farms and campuses in a fleet pilot program launching in late 2027.
In brief
Toyota is bringing back the Scion brand with an Indiana-built Japanese-style mini truck, targeting farms and campuses in a fleet pilot program launching in late 2027. Toyota is reviving the Scion brand as an experimental mobility incubator, starting with an American-made kei truck built to Japanese specifications and…
Scion returns as mobility lab
Toyota is reviving the Scion brand, discontinued in 2016, as an experimental mobility incubator. Rather than targeting youth-market hatchbacks, Scion by Toyota will test utility, outdoor adventure, and customization that wouldn't fit other Toyota models.
Kei trucks surge in America
More than thirty thousand used kei trucks have been imported into the US since 2020, with roughly seven thousand five hundred units entering the country each year.
The KEI-01 arrives in 2027
Scion's KEI-01 will land in the second half of 2027 with a 660cc three-cylinder gas engine paired with a continuously variable transmission. It delivers enough power for stop-and-go driving while using minimal fuel.
Tiny truck, big advantages
At roughly eleven feet long and under five feet wide, the KEI-01 is about half the footprint of a full-size pickup.
Speed limit and capability
Certified under federal Low-Speed Vehicle rules, the KEI-01's top speed is capped at twenty-five miles per hour.
“25 mph”
Indiana plant investment
Toyota is investing thirty-four million dollars into its Princeton, Indiana manufacturing plant to stand up local assembly and add roughly fifty jobs. Production kicks off in the second half of 2027.
Fleet pilot, not retail launch
Scion by Toyota is launching the KEI-01 strictly as a fleet-focused pilot program targeting corporate campuses, farms, municipalities, and local delivery operators.
What it means
Toyota is reviving the Scion brand as an experimental mobility incubator, starting with an American-made kei truck built to Japanese specifications and capped at twenty-five miles per hour.
