Used saloon car sales drop on strict 8-year rule

Imported cars await clearance by agents at Mombasa port. PHOTO | FILE 

By NEVILLE OTUKI

In Summary

• Kenya Auto Bazaar Association—the lobby for used car dealers— Monday attributed the drop to the enforcement of the eight-year rule.
• The drop is the first since 2011 when sales decreased by 1,407 units to 2,797 in the period under review.
• Station wagons had the highest sales with 15,595 units or 1,178 more compared to last year, followed by vans and pickups which grew by 924 units to 5,007.
• KNBS data shows that total vehicle sales in the four-month period rose to 31,143 units from 27,673 last year.

Saloon car sales in the first four months of the year dropped as the Kenya Bureau of Standards (Kebs) strictly enforced the rule that bars importation of vehicles aged more than eight years.

Data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) shows that only 3,928 units were sold, down from 4,673 a similar period last year.

The Kenya Auto Bazaar Association—the lobby for used car dealers— Monday attributed the drop to the enforcement of the eight-year rule.

“Kebs became strict towards the end of 2013, requiring all imported vehicles to adhere to the eight-year limit with no allowances,” said the association’s secretary-general Charles Munyori.

“This has resulted in a constrained supply in the first quarter of the year.”

Mr Munyori said that saloon cars were the most affected since their customers change their preferences the most, but expected the figures to rise later in the year.

The drop is the first since 2011 when sales decreased by 1,407 units to 2,797 in the period under review.

Kenya only allows importation of cheaper second hand vehicles of up to eight years since their manufacturing dates.

The used units currently attract lower taxes compared to new ones but the Treasury plans to start imposing higher rates on the old units to lower carbon emissions and boost efficiency in fuel consumption.

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The KNBS data indicates other vehicle segments recorded increased sales in the period under review.

Station wagons had the highest sales with 15,595 units or 1,178 more compared to last year, followed by vans and pickups which grew by 924 units to 5,007.

Huge appetite

Lorries stood at 4,316, up from 2,977 while buses grew from 535 to 785.

The KNBS data shows that total vehicle sales in the four-month period rose to 31,143 units from 27,673 last year.

The lower prices for second hand vehicles have proved popular with most small business owners and the middle class.

The huge appetite for used cars prompted Toyota Tsusho, the parent firm of Toyota Kenya, to establish a separate unit (Toyotsu Auto Mart) in 2013 that deals in a wide range of second-hand brands including Toyota and Subaru.