{{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 trucks, available in RWD or 4WD version, originally built to satisfy the Japanese ''keijidōsha'' (軽自動車) statutory class of light vehicles. In Asia, they generally fall in the sub-1000&nbsp;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.<ref>{{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}}</ref>

==Worldwide usage==

In the US, the 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.<ref name=":42">{{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}}</ref><ref>{{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}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{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}}</ref>

thumb|Multicar M25

A parallel development happened in Eastern Europe, where the East-German firm 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 served a market somewhere between the Multicar and the kei-trucks.{{cn|date=May 2026}}

[[File:Tataintroace.jpg|thumb|The Tata Ace was India's first mini truck]]

==See also== * Mini Trucks in Japan * Mini Trucks in India * Microvan * Pickup truck * UTV

==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