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· Imports of new and used motor vehicles by Kenya declined seven percent to 85,624 units in the year ended December compared to 92,120 units in 2019
· Charles Munyori, the secretary-general of the Kenya Auto Bazaar Association which represents used car dealers said that the first half was tough because the panic and economic disruption reduced demand for vehicles
· Second-hand vehicles accounted for about 88 percent of all vehicles imported into the country
Imports of new and used motor vehicles by Kenya declined seven percent to 85,624 units in the year ended December compared to 92,120 units in 2019, according to the official figures released by the East African country. The auto imports fell sharply in the first half of last year when the Covid-19 pandemic hit the country. Units imported in the six months to June 2020 dropped 30.2 percent to 34,054 compared to 48,839 in a similar period the year before.
Charles Munyori, the secretary-general of the Kenya Auto Bazaar Association which represents used car dealers said that the first half was tough because the panic and economic disruption reduced demand for vehicles. Second-hand vehicles accounted for about 88 percent of all vehicles imported into the country. Closure of businesses and loss of more than one million jobs were also reasons that hurt sales of vehicles and other goods.
The government started easing most of the restrictions in July in a move that saw auto imports stage a rebound in the recent days. With that, imports rose 19.1 percent to 51,570 units in the six months ended December compared to 43,281 units a year earlier, mitigating the sharp contraction seen in the first half of the year, leaving overall 2020 imports down seven percent.
