Kei car, K-car, or kei jidōsha (軽自動車, lit. "light automobile") (pronounced [keːdʑidoːɕa]), is a Japanese category of small vehicles, including passenger cars (kei cars or kei-class cars), microvans, and pickup trucks (kei trucks or kei-class trucks). They are designed to comply with Japanese government tax and insurance regulations, and in most rural areas are exempted from the requirement to certify that adequate parking is available for the vehicle. This especially advantaged class of cars was developed to popularize motorization in the postwar era. While successful in Japan, the genre is generally too specialized and too small to be profitable in export markets.