
The Subaru Sambar is a very small vehicle manufactured by Subaru, a division of Fuji Heavy Industries, specifically for the Japanese market. It is Japan's first Keitora (軽トラ), shorthand for "kei class truck" and is still in production. The Sambar is available in both microvan and Kei truck (Pickup truck style) to fulfill the Kei car guidelines. Still popular in the domestic market, the Sambar continues to be produced in Japan, China, Korea, as well as in Finland with a joint venture with Elcat Automotive. Since its introduction in 1961, the Sambar has used a rear engine, rear wheel drive format (with optional 4WD from 1980 on), with the first two generations using the air-cooled engine from the Subaru 360, and later generations using the water-cooled engine from the Subaru Rex, Vivio and the Pleo. Until 2012 the Sambar model was still using the Sixth Generation chassis and body with updated fascia. It was the first Kei truck that used a cabover design, with the passenger cabin over the engine. The current generation is a rebadged version of the Daihatsu Hijet/Atrai. The name Sambar is very similar to the top trim package for the Volkswagen Type 2 called the Samba introduced in 1951, which also used an air-cooled engine installed in the back, utilizing rear-wheel-drive.