Buyers of small ‘kei’ cars from Japan are facing uncertainty in Australia after regulators mistakenly approved them for road use without meeting new safety standards. The Australian Government has halted the approval of several popular imported kei cars after finding out that they were not compliant with strict crash-safety regulations in the country. Over the past two years, thousands of kei cars were wrongly certified by federal regulators as meeting side-impact crash safety rules that are more stringent in Australia than in Japan.
This blunder has left hundreds of customers waiting for their kei cars in a state of limbo as the necessary documents for road certification were suspended by the government. While the kei cars already on Australian roads will not be recalled, importers have been informed that these vehicles breach Australian motor-vehicle design rules. The recent surge in imported vehicles in Australia, including kei cars, has been fueled by rule changes and the Specialist and Enthusiast Vehicle import scheme.
These small kei cars, which are smaller than a Smart ForTwo but larger than a Suzuki Swift, must adhere to strict limits on engine size, power, and dimensions. However, the approval documents for five popular kei car models have been suspended by the government, affecting both importers and customers. Importers claim that the government did not provide sufficient notice before freezing the approval documents and have offered little assistance to affected customers.
The process of importing a vehicle involves submitting a model report to the Australian government, which certifies that the vehicle meets local standards. While regulators do not inspect every new vehicle that arrives in Australia, they rely on the word of importers through these model reports. The recent suspension of model reports for kei cars has caused significant disruptions for customers who had already purchased these vehicles from Japan.
Regulators have blamed importers for the mistake, stating that it is not feasible for the government to check every aspect of the approval documents. Importers argue that they followed the government’s guidelines and that the government should have noticed any discrepancies during the three-month approval process. The government has offered some customers exemptions under certain conditions, but maintains that all vehicles must meet Australian Design Rule requirements.
The issue stems from differences in side-impact crash safety regulations between Australia and Japan, specifically regarding the test speed and width of vehicles. While Japan adopted a lower test speed for narrow vehicles like kei cars, Australia declined to implement this provision. As a result, kei cars that were approved in Japan under different safety rules are now facing suspension in Australia.
While some kei car models have had their approval documents suspended entirely, others have had entry denied for examples built after specific dates when the safety rules came into effect. The government has taken a strict stance on these safety regulations, causing significant disruptions for importers and customers alike. As the situation unfolds, affected parties are left to navigate the complexities of importing and certifying kei cars for use on Australian roads.