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Second-hand cars to get more costly – The East African

Second-hand cars to get more expensive in fresh age limit rule

Second-hand cars at the port of Mombasa. FILE PHOTO | NMG

  • An East African Community (EAC) resolution has recommended the slashing of the age limit for imported cars to five years by 2021.
  • Kenya only permits the import of second-hand cars not older than eight years while Tanzania has set its limit at ten years.
  • Rwanda, Burundi and South Sudan do not have any such thresholds. On average, cars in the region are fifteen to twenty years old.

Kenyans may have to dig deeper into their pockets to buy second-hand cars popular with the majority if proposals to lower the age limit for used-vehicle imports are implemented.

A report has recommended the slashing of the age limit for imported cars to five years by 2021, in a raft of measures intended to promote local assembly in the region.

Kenya only permits the import of second-hand cars not older than eight years while Tanzania has set its limit at ten years.

Rwanda, Burundi and South Sudan do not have any such thresholds. On average, cars in the region are fifteen to 20-years-old.

Second-hand imports are very popular with majority of middle income Kenyans as they are cheaper.

Fresh cars are out of reach for the majority, with most dealers only focusing on a few wealthy buyers, government, big companies and aid agencies.

The EAC report argues that the disjointed policies on age thresholds among the EAC member states are flooding regional markets with old cars and stifling the growth of fresh car manufacturing.

“Lack of clear policy on age boundaries has been identified as a factor contributing to enlargened imports of used vehicles, while also posing adverse influence on environment, safety and health,” states a policy brief on the report that was submitted to a summit of the EAC goes of state last week.

Under the proposals, EAC countries would harmonise the age thresholds for used car imports at eight years by 2019. This limit would then be lowered to five years by 2021.

Used car imports make up about eighty five per cent of the Two.Two million cars on the road in the region.

The report, carried out by the EAC Secretariat and the Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA), estimates that the region loses about $Two billion in foreign exchange every year on importing cars.

It is argued that with more stringent thresholds on the cars coming in the EAC, a window will open up for local manufacturing to thrive, to meet growing request.

The report also recommends that the EAC invests in two large-scale assembly plants that will produce cars with a price range of inbetween $Five,000 to $Ten,000.

The region should aim to produce 500,000 units per year by 2027.

“It is expected that the growing economy and expansion of the middle class will proceed to spur the request of vehicles in the EAC region,” says the policy brief.

Presently East Africa has an average motorisation level of fifteen vehicles per 1,000 people, lower even than the African average of forty four vehicles per 1,000 people. Whether these proposals will be implemented remains to be seen.

EAC fucking partner states have been attempting to harmonise age thresholds on cars for more than a decade with little success.

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