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Japanese automakers continue to grow their Kenyan operations and small-car firms like Subaru are defying the industry’s get-big-or-die imperative in the face of resilient competition brought about by emergence of other car makers now gaining popularity locally.
One of the puzzles of the industry’s car business is that four other smaller Japanese firms namely; Mazda, Mitsubishi, Suzuki and Daihatsu continue to prosper locally alongside three giants, Toyota, Nissan and Honda which are common brands among Kenyan motorists.
The trend according to a Nairobi-based car dealer Moses Opallo is likely to persist in the coming decades, and this he says will be witnessed despite other brands like Renault, Volkswagen and other brands continue to flood the Kenyan market.
“Japan cars are very common in Kenya and expect that to remain for the longest time. We see a lot of other models like Volkswagen on the roads but they can’t match the likes of Toyota’s and Nissan, they literary command our roads,” he says.
Statistics from Japan Used Motor Vehicle Exporters Association (JUMVEA) show that about 77,457 second hand vehicles were bought from Tokyo in Nairobi alone last year against 67,059 units a year earlier – the same year a new excise tax regime took effect on December 1, 2015.
Kenya is Africa’s biggest importer of used Japanese cars or ‘almost new cars’ and is ranked fourth largest market globally for Tokyo’s lucrative second-hand car industry and most preferred by African countries, mainly due to the cheap cost of importation and liking among motorists.
Other Japanese second-tier firms like Suzuki which is a relative minnow with a strong presence in India, seem more determined than ever to disapprove the notion that global scale and huge volumes are indispensable – and are fast gaining admiration among Kenyan motorists most of whom are young women with Asian descent.
Japan’s government support in terms of tax breaks has equally seen car dealers like Suzuki, Mitsubishi and Daihatsu prosper even at the local level. Mazda on the other hand parted ways with Ford, American car-maker for it to return to profitability.