The Citroën Ami is cheaper still, priced from £7695 (or £19.99 per month with a £2747.19 deposit). However, it has yet to find success on the scale of the Spring because it is so compromised: a 28mph top speed, a sub-50-mile range and seating for two only.
This opens a gap in the market for electric kei cars, which undercut the likes of the Spring but retain much more usability than the extreme Ami.
Few vehicles are better placed to fill this opening than the Nissan Sakura, voted Japan’s Car of the Year for 2022-23. Launched last year at just ¥1.78 million (£11,220, including local incentives), it offers seating for four and a 112-mile range, plus an 81mph top speed.
“The Sakura would do well in Europe,” said Torque GT. Manufacturer backing would also be required for such models in order for them to achieve the economies of scale needed to be sold at a competitive price point.
Torque GT – being a low-volume specialist, often working on commissions through its personal import service – could bring a Sakura to the UK for only “just under £20k”. At that price, it would be unsurprising if mainstream buyers instead looked to the full-sized MG 4, which offers a 218-mile range for £26,995 (in SE specification).
Should any manufacturer offer a kei car in Europe, it will face significant challenges. For a start, the boxy shape legislated into existence by the restrictive kei rules is thoroughly unfashionable among European buyers, who tend to favour more curvaceous crossovers. The kei cars would also have to adhere to strict GSR2 safety regulations.
All new cars launched in Europe since 6 July 2022 have to comply, and from 2024 existing models on sale in the market will have to comply, via modifications if need be, to remain on sale.
The technology now required includes advanced emergency braking, driver drowsiness detection and emergency lane keeping, among other systems. Modification is the sticking point for some cars currently on sale. It is unlikely that modifying existing Japanese-market models that lack such tech would be economical for manufacturers. Nonetheless, many newer kei cars do offer advanced driver assistance (the Sakura has Nissan’s ProPilot suite, for instance) so may not need significant revisions to be sold here.