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"Kei cars" in Japan post-WWII

After World War II, and in the middle of the post-war period, the Japanese government had to rebuild the country. One of the initiatives that were launched was the development of the idea of the so-called "Kei Car" or standard car… for the people. Greater mobility of people and goods was required to promote economic growth, at a time when most Japanese could not afford a medium-sized car or a good motorcycle.

Upon stimulus brought by the government onto the automobile sector, manufacturers were encouraged to produce small cars. The "kei jidousha" type of automobiles were a class of four-wheeled vehicles which Japan government introduced with restrictions in terms of size and engine. Basically, cars that would fall under these restrictions could have any shape or form and the manufacturers were encouraged to produce small cars that people could afford.

In July 1949, with the aim of encouraging companies to produce a "national" economically affordable cars for the masses (the typical "people's car" idea), the Japanese government introduced tax incentives and facilities to purchase cars, and in parallel established the first standards required in automobile manufacturing. The rules for manufacturing kei cars were pretty restrictives at first but evolved thoughout the years to reflect the reality of what companies were able to build in order to have decent power, size and attractability for the market to take off.

At first, from July 8th, 1949, the vehicles had to have a maximum length of 2800 mm (2.8 meters) and a maximum width of 1000 mm (1 meter). The maximum engine size was set to 150cc for four strokes engine and 100cc for two-strokes. They should've been really small cars, and this was deemed unfeasible by most companies.

On July 26th, 1950, the rules were updated : 3000 mm (3 meters) length, 1300 mm (1.3 meter) width, with 4-strokes engine of 300cc max and 2-strokes engine of 200cc max.

On August 16th, 1951, the rules were updated to 4-strokes engine of 360cc max and 2-strokes engine of 240cc max.

On April 1st, 1955, the rules were updated to have all engine a maximum displacement of 360cc max.

The rules were then kept that way until the end of 1975.

The "Auto Sandal"

In postwar Japan, in the modern and industrious city of Nagoya, there was a company which started as Nakano Automobiles Kogyo Ltd. and in 1951 came out with a prototype vehicle called the Auto Sandal.
The company subsequently went on to produce 196 vehicles which was updated both in engineering and styling before going bankrupt in 1954.

In 1947, Nakano Yoshimishiro founded the "Nakano Automobile Kogyo Company Limited" in the Japanese city of Nagoya. Since 1947, Nakano Yoshimishiro had been developing the prototype of a micro car and in the same way that other Japanese manufacturers of that time did, between 1950 and 1951, Nakano Yoshimishiro adapted his prototype to the standards and premises of the government with the aim of starting marketing as soon as possible.

In 1952 Nakano Yoshimishiro reorganized the "Nakano Automobile Kogyo Company Limited" and renamed it "Auto Sandal Motor Company" (日本オートサンダル自動車), establishing headquarters in Tokyo. The new model would carry the brand "Auto Sandal" (オートサンダル). The brand name referred to a kind of typical Japanese sandal or footwear.

The "Auto Sandal" was a micro car, with an open body and capacity for two people. Initially, it was equipped with a 349 cc, air-cooled, two-stroke, single-cylinder engine that ranged from 5 hp to 5.5 hp, rear-mounted, and rear-wheel drive.

Different models were made; In 1952 the FN and FS models equipped with 349 cc engines, in 1953 the FN-L model equipped with the same engine and in 1954 the Roly model equipped with a 238 cc engine.

Production ceased in 1954 after only 196 cars had been produced, three of which are still preserved and are part of the "Sepia Collection" exhibited in the Japanese city of Kurume.

Interestingly, from an entity located at the same adress as Auto Sandal, a car prototype came to light in 1957 and known as the Meihatsu Popular P4 (メイハツポピュラーP4). However, little is known about it apart from the fact that it was never mass-produced.

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To see the complete list of "Alpha 3" country codes used in these pages to specify the market in which the model was sold, please visit the following website :
https://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/country_code_list.htm
(We added (EUR) for Europe, (NAM) for North America, (SAM) for South America and (GCC) for Gulf Cooperation Council)

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