The reason you can’t buy Toyota’s HiAce truck in America – Jalopnik

The HiAce is a line of Toyota vans that can be configured as a passenger or truck. You can expect a 2.5-litre diesel engine to a 3.5-litre petrol engine, and a range of configurations depending on where you are in the world. According to ToyotaBetween 1967 and 2019, more than 6.24 million HiAce vans were sold across continents. Sounds great, so why can’t you buy one in the US?

There are probably a few reasons why the Japanese automaker hasn’t entered the North American market with its HiAce. First, Toyota introduced a van in the 1980s but discontinued it. Despite outselling its rivals Mitsubishi and Nissan at the time, the market began to shift towards minivans. That is why the car manufacturer chose to launch the Previa in 1991, which was larger and better suited American tastes at the time.

Furthermore, competition in the United States is, believe it or not, fierce, with the market firmly in the hands of the likes of Ford and Ram. Toyota would have to invest a significant amount of resources to try to break into the US market, with no guarantee of success. This would make the move a riskier business proposition than focusing their HiAce efforts elsewhere in the world. Finally, North America has had an import tariff specifically targeting commercial vehicles since 1963, and some car enthusiasts are declaring, “It’s time for the chicken tax to go.” The chicken tax is a 25% rate on some vehicle types, including imported vans. This tariff essentially takes away Toyota’s ability to be competitive with Ford and Ram.

One of the big hurdles for a foreign automaker trying to launch a vehicle in the U.S. is ensuring it meets the latest safety and emissions regulations. Although Toyota has been selling HiAce vans around the world for years, it would not immediately meet the required standards for the US markets. And because of the 25-year import rule for vehicles made outside the US, you would be banned from legally driving a new HiAce for quite some time. This ban has been a thorn in the side of car enthusiasts for years, who are eager to get their hands on certain foreign vehicles. We even asked readers about it a while ago and got a lot of great opinions about which 25-year-old cars they would want to import if they could now.

Fortunately, Toyota HiAce vans from the 1990s are available for sale in the United States, and they have already gone through the hassle of the import process. For example, a used HiAce can be purchased for less than $13,000 to around $20,000. The odometer may vary on these models, but there are also options with a mileage under 45,000. One of the most interesting aspects of these used HiAce vans is all the different modifications you can find. For example, you can find Coleman camper conversions, 4WD pickup conversions, custom paint jobs and more.