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Kenya’s New car sales up 18.5% in August
The William Ruto–led regime still faces numerous shocks, including a severe liquidity crunch and inflationary pressures in 2024, climate change shocks, subdued business sentiment following the mid-2024 protests, and reduced public spending amid ongoing fiscal consolidation efforts.
By Steve UMIDHA
New vehicle sales in Kenya grew by just 2 percent in seven months to July 2025, compared to a similar period last year, hit by a sluggish economy, high cost of living, weak revenue generation, and declining private sector investment, according to the industry’s umbrella body.
The Kenya Motor Industry Association (KMIA) data shows that car dealers have sold a total of 8,914 vehicle units in 8 months to August, 1,393 more than the industry managed by July this year, which stood at 7,521 new car units.
Vehicle inventory levels have been plummeting, but incentives were expected to increase this year, even though there’s growing uncertainty surrounding a shaky economy, interest rates, and a wobbly regime riddled with recurrent cabinet reorganizations, which is said to hurt the effectiveness of the Government.
Unless growth translates more efficiently to higher incomes for the middle-income earners, the auto sector, like many others, is unlikely to reach the levels seen in 2015 when the industry recorded its best performance yet.