# Mini truck
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{{Short description|Tiny but practical light trucks}}
{{more footnotes|date=January 2024}}
'''Mini trucks''', also called '''micro-trucks''' or '''mini-lorries''', are tiny but practical [light truck](/source/light_truck)s, available in [RWD](/source/Rear-wheel_drive) or [4WD](/source/Four-wheel_drive) version, originally built to satisfy the Japanese ''[keijidōsha](/source/kei_car)'' (軽自動車) statutory class of light vehicles. In Asia, they generally fall in the sub-1000 cc engine category. These vehicles find their use in intra-city low tonnage cargo delivery, like postal and courier services or home delivery of appliances from dealer to the customer i.e. light loads over short distances.[{{cite web |url=http://www.iihs.org/laws/minitrucks.aspx |title=Mini-truck state laws |website=Insurance Institute for Highway Safety |location=US |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080805213849/http://www.iihs.org/laws/minitrucks.aspx |archive-date=2008-08-05}}]
==Worldwide usage==
In the US, the [Telo MT1](/source/Telo_MT1) has been described as a mini truck for delivering the passenger capacity, payload capacity, and towing capacity of mid-sized pickup trucks while being several feet shorter.[{{Cite web |date=2023-06-13 |title=Telo Electric Minitruck First Look: The Tiny Cybertruck You’ve Been Waiting For? |url=https://www.motortrend.com/news/telo-electric-mini-truck-first-look |access-date=2026-05-10 |website=MotorTrend |location=US}}][{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pw250Va1JFo |title=Big truck energy! Exclusive First Drive of the Telo MT1 Mini-Truck |date=2025-04-28 |publisher=Jay Leno's Garage |location=US |access-date=2026-05-10 |via=YouTube}}] The truck will be released with a battery option providing {{cvt|350|miles|km|order=flip}} of range and 250 kW DC fast-charging to enable long distance trips.[{{Cite news |last=Adlen |first=Nathan |date=2025-03-14 |title=Telo MT1 Driven: The Mini Cooper-Sized EV Pickup That Hauls Like a Mid-Size |url=https://www.autoblog.com/reviews/telo-mt1-driven-the-mini-cooper-sized-ev-pickup-that-hauls-like-a-mid-size |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20260210210309/https://www.autoblog.com/reviews/telo-mt1-driven-the-mini-cooper-sized-ev-pickup-that-hauls-like-a-mid-size |archive-date=2026-02-10 |access-date=2026-05-22 |work=Autoblog |language=en}}]
thumb|Multicar M25
A parallel development happened in Eastern Europe, where the East-German firm [Multicar](/source/Multicar) developed the eponymous Multicar M22, M24 and above all M25, which defined the form-factor in Eastern Europe for several decades.{{cn|date=May 2026}}
The rationale was slightly different in Eastern Europe than in Japan - to carry heavy loads (up to 2 metric tons) within industrial areas, construction sites, agricultural areas, working for communal services etc. To satisfy this, the Multicar 25 was designed in a modular fashion and fitted with a hydraulic pump, so it was easy to fit a fixed bed, tilting dumper or other variants. Over 100,000 Multicars M25s were made and their presence was ubiquitous in Central and Eastern Europe. By 1990s, both a follow-up of Multicar M26, as well as Multicar form-factor-inspired vehicles like the Czech AGM Magma/Alficar/Zebra were produced. However, the Multicar brand emerged as the dominant player in the communal and micro-truck sector.{{cn|date=May 2026}}
In Italy, the [Piaggio Porter](/source/Piaggio_Porter) served a market somewhere between the Multicar and the kei-trucks.{{cn|date=May 2026}}
[[File:Tataintroace.jpg|thumb|The [Tata Ace](/source/Tata_Ace) was India's first mini truck]]
==See also==
* [Mini Trucks in Japan](/source/Kei_truck)
* [Mini Trucks in India](/source/Small_Commercial_Vehicle)
* [Microvan](/source/Microvan)
* [Pickup truck](/source/Pickup_truck)
* [UTV](/source/Side-by-side_(vehicle))
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
*[https://ace.tatamotors.com/ Tata Ace Mini Trucks] Tata Ace was India's first mini truck also called Chota hathi in India
*[http://www.iihs.org/iihs/topics/laws/minitrucks Mini-truck state laws] Summary of Mini-truck Laws in the US States {{dead link|date=January 2024}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20101128041203/http://www.urbantulsa.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A23612 New law paves the way for Japanese mini-trucks to roam Tulsa streets]
*[http://www.iberianet.com/articles/2008/06/23/news/doc485fe8e092258084621605.txt Truck bill passes in Louisiana] (Note 'Kie' misspelling)
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110708111856/http://www.calhouncountyjournal.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=62 Mini trucks reach Calhoun Co, MS]
*[https://substarinc.com/blog/tag/mini-truck/ Japanese Mini trucks]
*[https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbYkRig3GPsXaP12zqI8kTg Mini trucks Maintenance and custom from Japan]
Category:Light trucks
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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Mini truck](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mini_truck) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mini_truck?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.