Kenya is planning to increase motor vehicles exports to the East African Community (EAC) bloc in order to boost the automotive sector, an official said on Monday.

George Makateto, an official with the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Enterprise Development told journalists in Nairobi that Kenya’s automotive industry has a lot of underutilized capacity due to low domestic demand for new vehicles.

The EAC member states include Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi and South Sudan.

Government data indicates that Kenya’s local assembly plants are currently producing about 10,000 units per year against a capacity of 34,000 units.

Makateto said that the EAC trading bloc is an ideal market because Kenyan goods do not attract import duties when exported within the region.

The Kenyan official revealed that the national automotive policy is in the final process of development and when it is implemented it will help to spur the domestic motor vehicle industry.

He said that the automotive policy promotes the sector by discouraging imports of second-hand cars into the country.