Steve Umidha @UmidhaSteve

Vehicle sales hit 1,057 units in September, a third straight increase in purchases, signalling an economic rebound gathering pace.

The increase in sales led to a total of 7,551 sold units since the start of the year, new industry data shows, saying dealers leveraged eased coronavirus lockdown measures.

Kenya Motor Industry Association (KMIA) estimates that 1,044 new vehicles were sold a month earlier, compared to 910 units sold in July, while 756 new vehicles were sole in June.

Most dealers announced improved sales, but Isuzu slowed down by 16.8 per cent, while Toyota recorded a growth of 1.7 per cent.

The best performance was registered by Land Rover, which increased sales by 500 per cent.

With the end of year festivities approaching, more positive bearings are expected in the industry with Toyota Kenya, for instance, eyeing the season to re-launch its new Toyota Starlet model.

Experts expect industry growth in the last quarter of the year to improve positive sentiments in the business environment. 

“This trend will continue to the last month of the year. And it is highly likely car makers will close their books remarkably in a relatively tough time,” said Stephen Mbuthi, an industry observer.

Commulatively, Kenya’s private sector recorded a third straight month of growth in September, with output and new orders rising solidly amid second phased re-opening of the economy.

Continued improvement

The Stanbic Bank Kenya Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) Survey posted 56.3, signalling continued improvement in business conditions in September — the highest reading since April 2018 in the health of the private sector economy.

Due to the still-strong presence of imported pre-owned vehicles and slower economic growth, however, the Kenyan new vehicles market cannot be considered solid.

Social distancing measures and widespread travel restrictions  deteriorated the consumer demand.