Kenya plans to promote local content of the automotive sector in order to boost the industrial sector. Hezekiah Okeyo, Director of Industries with Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives said that the vehicle assemblers are currently heavily dependent on imports.
“We will ensure that as much as possible the local automotive sector uses parts domestically produced in order to boost employment opportunities,” Okeyo said during the Enterprise India Expo.
According to the ministry, the country’s three local assemblers produce about 6,000 cars annually which is below the installed capacity.
However, most of the registered cars in Kenya’s are secondhand cars that are imported which are more affordable as compared to locally produced vehicles, Okeyo said.
He noted that the government is developing a new national automotive policy in order to boost local manufacturing.
The new automotive policy will provide incentives to ensure that local vehicles assemblies operate at full capacity by providing preferential treatment to locally produced cars and ensure that used car imports are discouraged.
He revealed that the new policy which will be put in place next year after extensive consultations with all relevant stakeholders, will introduce strict age limits for used imported vehicles.
