Domestic new car sales leap by 14pc in November
Domestic new car sales grew 14 per cent in November, signaling continued growth acceleration since April when recovery signs began to show, according to industry data.
Data from Kenya Motor Industry Association (KMI), a formal motor sector lobby, show that a total of 12,750 new vehicles had been sold between January and November, compared to 11,222 total units the industry had managed in 10 months to October, a 14 per cent jump.
This means that local dealers sold 247 more new vehicles during the month under review compared to a similar period in 2020, indicating the faster recovery era buoyed by rising consumer confidence amid easing mobility restrictions following curfew seizure in October.
Kenya Motor Industry Association data further shows that a total of 9,681 total units were sold in the same period last year, compared to 12,750 vehicles auto dealers managed in the same period this year.
This implies that an impressive 3,069 more vehicles have been sold in the 11 months of 2021 – representing a 32 percent growth this year.
The November numbers are a culmination of a consistent growth year for players despite the pandemic fears.
Car industry enjoyed a record September for new vehicle sales – hitting over 10,000 total units sold since the turn of the year.
Economic disruption
Higher spending from buyers and ease of the economic disruption of Coronavirus restrictions as well as cheaper financing options by the banks have been attributed to that growth which could see the industry sell over 13,000 new vehicles by year end, for the first time since 2018 when the industry sold 13,886 units.
Simba Corporation, one of the market’s consistent dealers, expects the industry to end on high on government measures taken since July in a sector that was last year hampered by movement restrictions for motorists and sluggish economic growth.
The dealer had last month, for instance, announced a mouth-watering deal with the National Police Service (NPS) in a venture expected to see NPS receive 50 units of phase 1 of their newly acquired Mahindra Scorpio pick-ups as part of their entire fleet of 100 units.
The Indian automaker Mahindra & Mahindra in 2012 started assembling two of its small commercial trucks in Kenya.
The Scorpio Single and double cabin small trucks were Mahindra’s models at a plant in Mombasa owned by local partner, car retailer Simba Corporation.
Equally, Toyota Kenya and Isuzu, the country’s top performers, are also expected to continue with the positive growth figures seen this year despite the looming August 2022 polls.
Commercial market
“Commercial market segment has performed impressively over the last few months, better than what we had forecast despite the fears of the pandemic and lockdown restrictions,” said Toyota’s managing director, Arvinder Reel in a recent interview on the sector’s performance.
The ongoing construction works and particularly the multibillion Expressway road and the activities in the real estate market are poised to fuel the car industry growth.
