Auto makers expect boom as importation ban takes effect

Local Automotive manufacturers are set to receive a major boost after the new regulation outlawing importation of second-hand trucks and buses became effective beginning this July. 

Kenya Bureau of Standards (Kebs) will  enforce the Kenya 1515 standard (KS1515) to regulate the automotive industry. The first gazette notice was approved in 2019, reducing the age limit for importation of used vehicles to zero.

“The government has demonstrated beyond doubt that Buy Kenya Build Kenya will support economic growth in the country,” says Rita Kavashe, Isuzu East Africa Managing Director. Isuzu East Africa is the leading local vehicle assembler commanding a 45 per cent market share in the trucks and buses category.

The objective of the KS1515 is to promote growth of locally assembled vehicles and increase utilization of installed capacity by local industries that supply the local vehicle assemblers with parts.  Manufacturers are expecting that  an increase in demand for locally assembled trucks and buses will result in direct business growth and job creation.