Light truck is a vehicle classification for trucks or truck-based vehicles with a payload capacity of less than 4,000 pounds.
The United States government uses light truck as a vehicle class in regulating fuel economy through the Corporate Average Fuel Economy standard. The class includes vans, minivans, sport utility vehicles, and pickup trucks.
Light trucks have lower fuel economy standards than cars under the premise that these vehicles are used for more utilitarian purposes than normal passenger transportation.
Since light trucks sold in the United States are increasingly being used for normal passenger transportation, some have advocated applying higher economy standards to light trucks that are not used for utilitarian purposes. One argument in support of this is that light trucks are sometimes based on automobile chassis. Crossover SUVs are a common example.