A microvan is a van or

minivan Minivan (sometimes called simply a van) is a car classification for vehicles designed to transport passengers in the rear seating row(s), with reconfigurable seats in two or three rows . The equivalent classification in Europe is MPV (multi-p ...

which is within the Japanese

kei car Kei car is the smallest category of Japanese expressway-legal motor vehicles. The term ''kei'' is a shortening of , (kanji: ), which translates to English as "light vehicle" (). With restricted dimensions and engine specifications, owners ...

classification or similar, and is smaller than a

mini MPV Mini MPV—an abbreviation for mini multi-purpose vehicle—is a vehicle size class for the smallest size of minivans/MPVs. The mini MPV size class sits below the compact MPV size class and the vehicles are often built on the platforms of B-segm ...

. In China, these vehicles are nicknamed ''miàn bāo chē'' ("bread-loaf vehicle") because of their shape.Chinese Hero Cars: The Mian Bao Che
- China Car Times Similarly, in several Hispanic American countries, these vehicles are called ''pan de molde'', which means "bread loaf". In Indonesia, it is commonly called a minibus due to their tall roof, perceived as resembling a miniature

bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a motor vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van, but fewer than the average rail transport. It is most commonly used ...

; the term is also used generally to refer to any type of three-row MPVs. Outside of China and Japan, microvans are also common in

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

South Asia South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

, and the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

. Microvans share similar characteristics with other-sized MPVs; for instance, microvans commonly have rear sliding doors. Generally, they have capacity for six, seven, or eight passengers. As this category of vehicle has fixed third-row seats, a single vehicle cannot be used both for passenger transport and larger-cargo transport without refitting; therefore, microvans are not usually considered

multi-purpose vehicle Minivan (sometimes called simply a van) is a car classification for vehicles designed to transport passengers in the rear seating row(s), with reconfigurable seats in two or three rows . The equivalent classification in Europe is MPV (multi-pu ...

Economics

Tax and insurance benefits in some locations make these models particularly inexpensive. For example, in rural Japan, kei-car vehicles are exempted from a certification that adequate parking is available for the vehicle. They are, therefore, widely used for small businesses in these places.

Design

The first vehicle to adopt the bodystyle of a van, with the engine installed in front of the driver, was the 1970s Honda Life "StepVan". Some microvans use a drivetrain with the engine installed transversely, using front- or all-wheel drive, while others use a cabover approach where the engine is installed beneath the driver, while still using all-wheel or rear-wheel drive powertrains. Cabover variants usually share their chassis with

kei truck A kei truck, kei-class truck, or Japanese mini truck, known in Japan as a ( ), is a style of pickup truck built to satisfy the Japanese ( ) Vehicle size class#Japan, statutory class of light vehicles. Limited to certain size restrictions—cu ...

derivatives from the same manufacturer. Most microvans have two swinging front doors, two sliding rear doors and a large tailgate. Seating can vary from two to nine; these seats are usually very thin and vertical to optimise room. The side windows in

commercial Commercial may refer to: * (adjective for) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and services ** (adjective for) trade, the trading of something of economic value such as goods, services, information or money * a dose of advertising ...

-only versions of microvans are replaced by metallic panels; this type of microvan is sometimes called a "blind van". Some models also feature pick-up variants with one or two seat rows. Engines usually have displacements under 1.0 L; for example, Japanese microvans have a limit of 660 cc. Outside the Japanese market, microvans are available with 850-cc to 1.6-L engines. The kei car regulation is used only in Japan, though other Asian automakers also design microvans with similar characteristics. The microvans are commonly known as " kei one-box" in Japan; their pick-up versions are known as

Gallery

Kei microvans

File:Daihatsu Hijet-Cargo Cruse S331V.JPG, Daihatsu Hijet Cargo File:2001_Subaru_Sambar_01.jpg,

Subaru Sambar The Subaru Sambar is a cabover truck and microvan manufactured and marketed by Subaru as Japan's second truck compliant with the country's strict Keitora (軽トラ) or ''Kei'' vehicle tax class, after the Kurogane Baby. Introduced in 1961 in ...

Van File:Honda Acty van 1999.jpg, Honda Acty Van File:Suzuki Every DA17V PA Limited.jpg,

Suzuki Every The is a kei truck produced by the Japanese automaker Suzuki. The microvan version was originally called the Carry van until 1982 when the passenger van versions were renamed as the . In Japan, the Carry and Every are ''kei cars'' but the Suzuk ...

File:Mitsubishi Minicab of Duskin Service Master 20080407a.jpg,

Mitsubishi Minicab The is a kei truck and microvan, built and sold in Japan by Japanese automaker Mitsubishi Motors since 1966. In Japan, it was sold at a specific retail chain called Mitsubishi Motors#Japan Sales Channels, Galant Shop. It was also sold by China ...

Van File:Japanese kitchen car.jpg, Subaru Dias Wagon Classic

food truck A food truck is a large motorized vehicle (such as a van or multi-stop truck) or trailer equipped to store, transport, cook, prepare, serve and/or sell food. Some food trucks, such as ice cream trucks, sell frozen or prepackaged food, but m ...

File:Maruti Omni.jpg,

Maruti Suzuki Maruti Suzuki India Limited is a publicly listed Indian subsidiary of Japanese automaker Suzuki Motor Corporation. It is the largest automobile manufacturer in India, specialising in small cars. The company was established by the Government ...

Omni, Indian licensed version of the

Suzuki Carry The is a kei truck produced by the Japanese automaker Suzuki. The microvan version was originally called the Carry van until 1982 when the passenger van versions were renamed as the . In Japan, the Carry and Every are ''kei cars'' but the Suzuk ...

Non-kei microvans

Image:Suzuki E-RV (front), Kajang.jpg,

Landy/E-RV or

Maruti Versa The is a kei truck produced by the Japanese automaker Suzuki. The microvan version was originally called the Carry van until 1982 when the passenger van versions were renamed as the . In Japan, the Carry and Every are ''kei cars'' but the Suzu ...

Image:Perodua Rusa (first generation, first facelift) (front), Kajang.jpg,

Perodua Rusa The Perodua Rusa is a cab over microvan manufactured by the Malaysian automaker Perodua between 1996 and 2007, and based on the Daihatsu Zebra. Launched on March 6, 1996, the Rusa is the first van model to be produced by a Malaysian automoti ...

, Based on the

Daihatsu Zebra The Daihatsu Zebra is a series of cab over vans and pickup trucks produced and sold by Japanese automaker Daihatsu's Indonesian subsidiary from 1986 to 2007. First generation (S88/S89; 1986) The first-generation Daihatsu Zebra was launche ...

. Image:Subaru_Domingo_001.JPG,

Subaru Domingo The Subaru Sumo, known as Domingo in the Japanese market and the Libero in European markets except for the UK, Iceland, the Benelux and Sweden, is a cabover microvan produced from 1983 to 1998. In Belgium, it was known as the Combi. In Sweden, ...

Image:Mitsubishi_Townboxwide.JPG,

Mitsubishi Town Box The Mitsubishi Town Box is a kei car (Town Box) and minivan (Town Box Wide) produced for the Japanese domestic market, Japanese domestic market (JDM) by the Japanese automaker Mitsubishi Motors. It was initially available with the alloy-cylinder hea ...

Wide

References

External links

{{commons category
Micro Van Owners Web Site/Forum
Cab over vehicles Commercial vehicles