Data obtained from
the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), indicates that Imports of new and used motor
vehicles declined seven percent to 85,624
units in the year ended December compared to 92,120 units in 2019.
A report by
Business Daily indicates that the statistics show auto imports fell sharply in
the first half of last year when the Covid-19 pandemic hit the country and
stern measures were taken to restraint its spread.
The number of
units imported between January to June 2020 dropped 30.2 percent to 34,054 compared to 48,839 in a similar period the year
before.
Mr. Charles
Munyori, the secretary-general of the Kenya Auto Bazaar Association which
represents used car dealers stated that, “The first half was tough because the
panic and economic disruption reduced demand for vehicles.” The
second-hand models account for about 88 percent of all vehicles imported into
the country.
The government
implemented several public health measures including a ban on international
travel, night-time curfew, the lockdown of counties such as Nairobi, and
closure of schools and bars.
Closure of
businesses and loss of more than one million jobs were among the unintended
consequences of the restrictions which hurt sales of vehicles and other goods.
When the
government, started easing most of the restrictions in July 2020, the auto
imports recorded a rebound in the second half of the period under review.
Vehicle imports
rose 19.1 percent to 51,570 units in the six months ended December compared to
43,281 units a year earlier. This mitigated the sharp contraction seen in the
first half of the year, leaving overall 2020 imports down seven percent.
Besides rising
consumer and business confidence, the increase in imports late in the year has
also been attributed to market forces.
“Prices of
vehicles in the international markets declined significantly because of reduced
demand. Big dealers took advantage of this and imported more units expecting a
recovery in demand,” Mr. Munyori said.
Dealers in
second-hand vehicles fared relatively better compared to their formal peers
selling new models.
New vehicle
dealers including Toyota Kenya, Isuzu East Africa, and Simba Corporation
reported a 16 percent sales slump to 11,086 units last year compared to 13,199
units in 2019.
The KRA data shows
that Toyota is the most popular vehicle make in Kenya, accounting for 54
percent of all auto imports.
Source;
Business Daily.
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