Kei Trucks

About

Kei Trucks are a variety of truck that is manufactured in Japan and has become a staple of Japanese lifestyle for their small size compared to efficiency. Online, Kei trucks have started to be used in various memes since 2019, with a wave of increased importing of these trucks as a far cheaper alternative to most modern day trucks. Similar to the cars from Initial D becoming cult classics, Kei trucks made by Suzuki and Honda have seen an increase in fans since 2020.

Origin

Originally produced in Japan in 1959, the Kei truck, often called the mini truck, became very popular as a way to have the flexibility of a pick-up truck, but the footprint of a much smaller vehicle. In a Society in which Hummers and other trucks being valued for their size, some of the earliest memes revolving around Kei Trucks were about them still being cool. On July 14th, 2019, the iFunny user NissanHardBody^[1] uploaded a meme in which they claimed that Kei cars and trucks were Big Dick Energy (shown below).

Spread

Over the next two years, Kei Trucks continued to see a steady increase in both physical presence on the road outside of Japan, but appearances in memes about them. On January 27th, 2022, the Redditor u/Dense_Excitement_789^[2] posted in the Subreddit called r/Memes a Magneto's Perfection meme in which Magneto is saying to keep showing him a real Japanese truck until a Kei truck is what is shown (shown below).

With the release of the Tesla Cybertruck, many Kei truck enthusiasts began to make memes comparing the two trucks in a way to make the Kei truck seem better. On February 26th, 2024, the Redditor u/notyogrannysgrandkid^[3] uploaded a breakdown comparison meme between the Kei truck and a Cybertruck, making various points about the drastic differences in price, mileage, maintenance, and style, while earning over 2,000 upvotes in eight months (shown below).

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References