Kenyan Motor Vehicle Sellers Sold 6,210 Units in 2019

The sales of new motor vehicles went down in the first six months of 2019 by 0.7 percent, which saw the sales units stagnating at 6,210.

2019 sales of 6,210 units is a 44 unit drop from the same period of time of motor vehicle sales in 2018, where 6,254 units were sold.

According to the Kenya Motor Industry (KMI), of the total sales units, local car assemblers were able to sell about 50.75 percent or 3152 units.

2654 units, which translates to 42.4 percent of the total units of the sales made by local assemblers were completely built imports.

Local assemblers’ sales in the first six months of 2019 record an improvement by 18.76 percent as in 2018, local sales made were only 2654 units.

According to Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS), local sales registered increased vehicle assembly activity and investments, and if President Uhuru’s ‘Build Kenya, Buy Kenya’ directive is implemented soon, a higher percentage of sales units is expected.

Following the President’s directive of prioritizing the purchase of local products, several government ministries and agencies have placed tenders to purchase locally assembled vehicles in support of the Build Kenya strategy.

2019 improvement in local sales has been attributed to the availability of well-trained technicians and fantastic after-sale service.

“Local assemblers have registered an improvement in their sales, thanks to our highly skilled technicians for the exemplary services they offer during, and after-sales,” said Alexander Helfritz, DT Dobie’s Actros sales, and marketing director.

“At DT Dobie, we started a program that is seemingly paying off, where we offer a three-day training course for drivers to them improve on vehicle management, road safety, and defensive driving,” he added.

Like DT Dobie, Toyota, CMC, and Isuzu East Africa also run apprenticeships and have produced skilled motor vehicles technicians, providing services across the country.