Nairobi — Kenya plans to restrict imports of second-hand cars to newer vehicles in an effort to boost the domestic automotive sector by reducing the dominance of the used car market. The East African nation undermined what was a thriving vehicle assembly industry in the 1990s with policies that encouraged imports of cheap second-hand cars. The government now intends, by 2021, to restrict imports of cars to vehicles that are three years old or newer, according to a draft policy proposal. Current regulations allow the importation of cars up to eight years old. Imported second-hand vehicles account for 85% of Kenyan car purchases, amounting to 86,626 vehicles in 2017 and gobbling up precious foreign exchange estimated at about 60-billion shillings ($593m)a year. The target is to gradually but systematically reduce and replace the over 80% market share of used vehicles and used parts with new products manufactured or assembled in Kenya, the government said in the policy draft. French ca...
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