At one time Russia and Chile have held the title of the largest importers of used Japanese vehicles. In 2009, however, as per Business Daily Africa News, Kenya has just taken the number one spot as the biggest importer of used Japanese cars. In spite of the global slump in the auto industry, Kenya has achieved this feat – it just proves that importing a used Japanese car is a better alternative than buying a new one locally – in many countries of the world.
Kenya overtook South Africa as the biggest importer of Japanese used cars as used car imports in South Africa experienced a 34% decline in the second quarter of 2009.
Other countries like UAE, New Zealand, Bangladesh, who are also heavy importers of Japanese used cars recorded a drop in demand of up to 45% compared to 2008. Russia recently changed its regulations to put restrictions on imports of right-handed used cars from Japan and other countries. All these factors contributed to make Kenya as the largest importer of Japanese used vehicles.
Generally, Kenyans are not so keen on extra performance of the car, but they look for value for their hard earned money. So, Japanese used cars are popular as they are reliable, efficient, low-dollar vehicles. There has been a big demand of used cars in Kenya, but increased competition from used car dealers has made the market over-saturated. Besides used car dealers, many private individuals from Kenya import cars and sell at lower prices as they don’t have to pay dealer fees.
Destination port for importing used cars is Mombasa in Kenya. As per the Importing regulation in Kenya, the age of the used vehicle has to be under 8 years, the vehicle should be Right Hand Drive, and it should be inspected and passed by Japan Export Vehicle Inspection Center (JEVIC).
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