Kenyan car importers rush to beat new age-limit deadline

Used cars at the Magari Land yard in Mombasa County. Vehicles registered before 2017 will not be permitted to enter Kenya once the new regulations take effect.

Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group

Kenyan commercial car dealers are rushing to beat the December 31 deadline for 2017 manufactured units, after the regulators issued guidelines to lock out older cars. 

The directive by the Kenya Bureau of Standards (Kebs) follows an old policy where cars older than eight years are refused entry. But a window had been granted to returning diplomats who had been allowed to come back home with cars they had used while on a tour of duty.

This week, Kebs said that all vehicles registered in 2017 or earlier must arrive in Kenya by December 31, 2024, to avoid rejection at the port. Vehicles failing to meet this deadline will be turned away at the importer’s expense. 

Dealers are protesting the directive, with their lobby, Car Importers Association of Kenya (CIAK), saying there was no stakeholder consultations, as is required, before adopting the new rules. 

CIAK chairman Peter Otieno said the delays caused by longer sea freight routes will add to their losses. “Importers are rushing to beat the eight-year rule, which has traditionally driven up numbers as the year closes. But the recent announcement by Kebs will directly affect business, as many vehicles will be locked out,” he said.

CIAK has urged the government to consider all vehicles cleared by Kebs to be allowed into the country past December 31, 2024, warning they will move to court to challenge the guidelines.

“There are a number of logistical challenges at the moment, including the delays caused by Houthi militants (in the Red Sea) which have disrupted the shipping routes, and thus increasing the number of days the vessels are docked in Mombasa. We expect this to delay delivery of vehicles resulting in losses,” Mr Otieno said.

Attacks by Houthi militants have led to prolonged re-routing of shipments, pushing vessels away from the Suez Canal to the Cape of Good Hope.

Mr Otieno said only one vessel with second-hand vehicles is scheduled to dock this month while several others are expected to dock at the end of December and in January.

Under the updated guidelines, only right-hand-drive vehicles whose first registration was on or after January 1, 2018, will be allowed into the country.

This is in line with the Kenya Standard Code of Practice for Inspection of Road Vehicles (KS 1515:2000), which includes an age limit for vehicles imported into the country.

This directive, Kebs says, aims to enforce an eight-year age limit on imported used vehicles, to enhance road safety and vehicle quality.

This change is part of a broader strategy by Kebs to reduce the influx of older, potentially unsafe vehicles into the Kenyan market.

The new regulations also affect how vehicles are certified before importation. Vehicles from countries where Kebs has an inspection agency, including Japan, the United Kingdom, and South Africa, must present a Certificate of Roadworthiness (CoR) from a KEBS-approved inspection service.

For vehicles registered in 2017, the CoR will only be valid until December 31, 2024.

"Any vehicle that arrives in Kenya after that date with a 2017 registration will not be accepted, and the importer will bear the costs of rejection," Kebs said.