Toyota Revives Scion With the KEI-01, a 25-mph Kei Work Truck Built in Indiana

Toyota is bringing back Scion with the KEI-01, an ultra-compact kei work truck that tops out at 25 mph, will be built in Indiana from the second half of 2027, and does not have a published price. Toyota’s November 10, 2026 newsroom release says the KEI-01 comes with a 660cc three-cylinder engine, a continuously variable transmission, and standard four-wheel drive. It is a right-hand-drive low-speed vehicle, just over 11 feet long and under 5 feet wide, with a bed payload of up to 600 pounds. First sales are a fleet-focused pilot through select dealers. Toyota may consider limited retail later.

Last updated: November 10, 2026.

Sources

• Toyota USA Newsroom, “Toyota Says ‘Okei’ to America: Introducing the Scion by Toyota Brand and KEI-01” (November 10, 2026): Scion by Toyota launch, KEI-01 specs and dimensions, 25 mph FMVSS No. 500 low-speed vehicle limit, right-hand drive, Toyota Indiana assembly from the second half of 2027, $34 million investment and about 50 jobs, fleet-first pilot, possible limited retail later, no price

TruckDaily take

Who this is for. Fleets, campuses, farms, and urban job sites that can live with a 25-mph top speed, right-hand drive, and a tiny footprint, just over 11 feet long and under 5 feet wide, plus a bed that holds up to 600 pounds. If you have been waiting for a factory kei work truck from Toyota, built in Indiana, this is the first real U.S. offering.

Who should skip. Skip if you need highway speed, left-hand drive, or a conventional pickup. This is not a Tacoma, and it is not a highway-speed mini-truck. Skip if you want to buy one at a regular Toyota store this year. Toyota is starting with a fleet pilot through select dealers in the second half of 2027, and it has not named a retail date or a price.

What we’d buy. We would not treat the KEI-01 as a personal highway commuter, and we would not guess a sticker. For a campus, farm, or jobsite that already runs low-speed utility vehicles, we would wait for Toyota to publish fleet pricing and the dealer list, then judge the truck on the 25-mph cap and the 600-pound bed, not as a substitute for a midsize pickup.

KEI-01 specs (from Toyota’s release)

Toyota also says the KEI-01 has a three-way fold-down cargo bed, an extended cabin with a raised roofline and storage behind the seats, and an enclosed cab with heat and air conditioning. It did not publish horsepower, a tow rating, fuel economy, ground clearance, or a price.

What Toyota actually announced

Scion is back as Scion by Toyota. The November 10 release says the brand was introduced the day before at events in Ypsilanti Township, Michigan, and Frisco, Texas, and that the KEI-01 is the first vehicle. Toyota is pitching it as a U.S. take on Japan’s kei trucks: small, 4WD, and built for tight job sites rather than highway miles.

The speed cap is the shopper fact that matters most. Toyota says the KEI-01 is designed to comply with FMVSS No. 500 requirements for low-speed vehicles, and that its maximum speed will be 25 miles per hour. It is also right-hand drive. If you were picturing a left-hand-drive mini-pickup you can take on the highway, that is not this truck.

Size and payload stay in kei territory. Toyota puts the truck at just over 11 feet long and under 5 feet wide, with a bed payload of up to 600 pounds. The three-way fold-down bed is meant to make loading easier from a lower height. That is enough for feed bags, tools or campus gear, but it is not a half-ton pickup bed.

When you can get one, and what it will cost

Toyota Indiana will assemble the KEI-01 starting in the second half of 2027. Toyota puts $34 million behind that work and says it will add approximately 50 new jobs. It will arrive in the U.S. in that same second-half 2027 window.

You will not walk into every Toyota store and order one. Toyota calls the KEI-01 an intentionally low-volume, niche vehicle and says initial sales are a fleet-focused pilot through Scion by Toyota dealers selected from current Toyota dealers. Based on market conditions, customer demand, and operational considerations, Toyota may consider expanding availability to limited retail sales later. Additional sales plans, Toyota says, will be shared as they are finalized.

Toyota has not announced a price.

The concepts, quickly

The same events also showed two concepts, not production trucks. The SxS Concept is a side-by-side with a turbocharged four-cylinder hybrid Toyota says produces more than 300 horsepower, plus a Silent Mode that can run on electric power. The BKE Concept is a smaller personal-mobility idea between the KEI-01 and the SxS. Toyota says it will keep advancing the SxS Concept. Neither concept has a price, a build site, or an on-sale date in this release.

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