Magari yaliyotumika ya kijapani

• Nchi: Kenya
• Tarehe: 2018-12-27

I am Mark Johnes Khaemba , being a meber of SBT Kenya, I thank SBT japan for making it easy for me to buy vehicles.
Kenya’s motorization rate stands at 28 vehicles per 1,000 inhabitants as at 2015, translating to an estimated 2.5 million vehicles on Kenyan roads. This is in comparison to a motorization rate of 7 in Tanzania, 13 in Uganda, and 176 in South Africa. With an annual growth rate of 11 per cent, Kenya is likely to have close to 5 million vehicles on the road by 2030, equivalent to a motorization rate of 56 vehicles. With Africa’s average rate being 42 vehicles, Kenya seems to be on a good growth path.

Currently, Kenya depends on imported motor vehicles from Japan, majority of which are secondhand and selling for as low as US$ 3,500. In 2015, out of the 247,181 vehicles duly registered, only 19,523 (8%) were new (both locally assembled and imported). Personal cars accounted for 14 per cent and the rest were commercial vehicles explained by 10 per cent light commercials and 90 per cent heavy commercial vehicles. In the same year, Tanzania recorded 5,200 new sales, Uganda 3,100 and South Africa sold 617,749 new cars. The dominance of commercial vehicles in local assembly indicates a business-oriented automobile industry. The Kenyan market has also recorded a decline in importation of personal cars from 18 per cent of all imported motor vehicles in 2013 to 16 per cent in 2014 and 14 per cent in 2015.

The automobile industry in Kenya dates back to 1960s and 1970s when various international leading vehicle manufacturers entered the market with a key focus on assembling commercial vehicles. Volkswagen entered the Kenyan market in the 1960s to assemble the beetle cars, vans and microbuses but closed down in 1977 at the height of oil crisis and shifted focus to China. Leyland Kenya Limited was then established in 1974 as a joint venture between the Government of Kenya and the UK-based Leyland to assemble Nissan trucks, Ashok Leyland trucks, Land Rovers, trailers and semi-trailers, Hino trucks and buses, among others. In 1975, a joint venture between the Government of Kenya and General Motors saw the establishment of General Motors East Africa, focusing mainly on Isuzu pick-ups, buses and trucks while Associated Vehicle Assemblers Limited was founded in 1975 to assemble Toyota cars such as Land cruisers, Dyna, Hilux, Hiace and Stout.

The automobile industry in Kenya has also seen entry of dealers involved in distribution of new cars. These include CMC Motors which was established in 1912 to exclusively distribute Volkswagen, Mazda, Ford, Suzuki and new Holland tractors and also provide spare part sales and after sale services. Amazon Motors, Toyota Kenya, Simba Colt Motors and DT Dobie are other dealers involved in distribution of new vehicles in Kenya.

During 1990s, the government adopted structural adjustment programmes, financial sector reforms and trade liberalization policies aimed at opening up the Kenyan market and eventually enable locals to access imported vehicles cheaply. Importation of secondhand motor vehicles increased competition for the local assemblers and distributors and, as a result, slowed the growth of the automobile industry.

The prospects for automobile industry improved when East African Community (EAC) customs union relaxed its rules of origin in 2015, which allowed locally-produced goods to trade preferentially after complying with 30 per cent local content requirements. Prior to this, motor vehicles produced in Kenya were taxed at a common external tariff (CET) of 25 per cent due to lack of compliance to the rules of origin, making them more expensive and less competitive in the regional market compared to secondhand imports from the rest of the world. Further, the EAC is now conducting research on automobiles industry, which will adequately inform policy decisions.

With a focus to revitalize the automobile industry, the Kenyan market has witnessed entry of new international car manufacturers as well as re-entry of companies that had exited the market and the expansion of those on the ground. Peugeot, a Fr