Huge change may be coming to American roads after a visit to Japan by President Donald Trump. America's much-loved SUVs may soon be rivalled by a four-seater, 660 cc car that is very popular in Japan — the "kei car". President Trump has developed a fondness for this small automobile. He wants kei cars to be manufactured in the USA. He wrote on his Truth Social website: "I have just approved tiny cars to be built in America…just like they are so successfully built in other countries." He added that the cars were "inexpensive, safe, fuel efficient, and quite simply, amazing".

In Japan, kei cars account for around a third of cars on the roads. They are ideally suited to the narrow streets of Japan's densely populated cities. However, laws must be passed to make the cars legal in the US. The website Quartz reported that: "There are lingering concerns that [kei cars] are too small and slow to be driven safely…on highways." US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy will remove all barriers to their production. He said: "If Toyota or any other company wants to make smaller, more affordable and fuel-efficient cars, we have cleared the deck."