Kenya Mulls Policy to Boost Automotive Exports in East Africa

Posted on : Monday, 22nd April 2019

Kenya is preparing to expand a policy that will boost motor vehicle exports to East Africa.

Stephen Odua, director of private sector development at the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Cooperatives told journalists in Nairobi that all admissible stakeholders are presently examining the national automotive policy.

"When in place the new policy will assist Kenya to scale up local production of vehicles so that the country's exports of automotive products to the East African Community bloc can increase from the current five percent of local production to 15 percent by 2022," Odua said during the national automotive policy validation workshop.

Odua said that the development of the local automotive industry was slowed by the liberalization of the economy which allowed reasonable imported second-hand vehicles, noting that over 85 percent of all cars registered annually are imports.

He explained that a robust local vehicle assembly sector will facilitate Kenya to increase exports to Africa by taking advantage of the African Continental Free Trade Area.

Odua added further that currently Kenya has over two million vehicles, which includes both imports and local assembled automobiles, saying that Kenya is keen to discourage importation of vehicles in order to spur the manufacturing sector.

According to government data, Kenya assembled locally relatively 5,100 vehicles in 2018.