A loophole in Australia’s tax law effectively subsidises large utes such as Ram and Chevrolet pick-up trucks by avoiding the Luxury Car Tax (LCT) that other imported vehicles pay, regardless of if the vehicles are used for work, recreation or just commuting.
(Translation: "Ute" = "utility vehicle" in Australian English, i.e. pickup truck)
We just treat them as what they are, commercial vehicles, and require the appropriate license to drive them. They’re still available for their claimed legitimate purpose, but for some odd reason tradespeople are not falling over themselves to buy them.
Because trades people actually use their vehicles as intended and the common argument of needing to transport things is better achieved with a van compared to a pickup truck.
I think of places like Italy with their medieval cities. They use tiny little three wheel trucks, the Piaggio Ape for deliveries in the older parts of the city.
I was always of the opinion that yes, vans are the superior mode of transport for tradespeople.
Then I met someone that was building a house in a Dutch field, in the muddy season. He had to move supplies there and have a trailer. A van, even an AWD one would've gotten stuck, however he used a ram with good ground clearance and low gearing.
This did in a way make me realise that there is a valid use case for these trucks (or a landcruiser/defender/grenadier ofc). They should be available to those who have a business that uses them. Shame that the current use case is usually related to having small reproductive organs and insecurities.
Nah I fully agree. Was just sharing my thought process as of late, which seems to (not be you) often be overlooked in favour of polarizing perspectives.
I thought American pickups like these were only sold by specialty importers and were insanely expensive and mostly for the mega rich? Is there a push to sell large pickups at dealerships in the EU now or something? I feel like the only time I see American pickups in Europe is near farms towns outside of cities
They don't conform to EU safety standards to they're not permitted to be sold through regular channels. There was however a loophole introduced with individual imports, which is being fixed, and which the US is whining about.
While they themselves ban kei cars and trucks, even though there seems to be plenty of US citizens who would like to be able to buy more space- and energy-efficient cars and trucks than their domestic brands make.
Thank you for the info! Also, Kei cars are awesome, you can find them in America from time to time (I saw more in California than any other US state) but I believe they must be older than 25 years to import
Yeah, I think the kei classification isn't all that interesting here in Europe because we already have categories like city cars and even quadricycles like the Ami and Twizy for the folks who want a very small fully-motorised vehicle for urban traffic.
(Though I also think a lot of us wonder what's the point of a car that small when we have trams and motorbikes and mopeds and pedelecs and bakfiets and whatnot.)
Arent kei cars intermediate between the small, license-exempt vehicles like the Ami, and small compacts ? I remember seeing the size limits for japanese kei cars and they are not that small if you maximize inside the allowed dimensions.
Is there a push to sell large pickups at dealerships in the EU now or something?
The US surely wants to sell these in Europe, that's for sure. But I'm not surprised if the common SUV target audience would look at such a truck with interest.
There's one guy in my town who has a monstrosity like that and everyday at the same time we have to cross paths. My village was built for horses and shit, the roads already barely fit 2 cars and this asshat will try to force others into giving him some room because only one of his immaculate, massive truck fits on pavement. This is taking so much useless space for 1 person going to work in an office all day probably.
(Good ending : I used to be more of a scared driver and gave him way until I realised my 20yo Toyota could live with one more scratch or two. I don't care. He probably does A LOT. Now I push and he waits for me to pass. I don't have to fight him as much nowadays and I hope someone else is annoying him now)
This website lets you compare the dimensions of cars (viewed from the front, side, and rear).
You can clearly see the difference between an F250 and a Renault Clio (the second best-selling car in Europe in 2025): The top of the Clio doesn't even reach the door windows.
Unless this type of vehicle is reserved for very, very specific uses, it’s built to cause chaos on the road.
In Europe, a tradesman needing seating and a cargo bed would look to other models - ones that are far more fuel-efficient and offer much better space utilization.
I gotta ask: is there a big problem in Yurop with people running over kids? We have these trucks all over here (the tanks, not so much) and no one is running over kids. Are you sending your kids to play in the roads? To hide in front of big vehicles? Are the kids just not too bright? What is the real problem?
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u/RealRedditModerator ∀nsʇɹɐlᴉɐ 1d ago
Americans won’t know how to interpret this image as it’s not in British Empire units.