Toyota races past new vehicle dealers with police car leases

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Sir Meliodas
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Sales of new motor vehicles surged 28 per cent in the nine months ended September, partly driven by orders from the National Police Service which took delivery of 1,221 units in the period.

Industry orders stood at 10,793 units in the review period compared to 8,427 units a year earlier, according to statistics from the Kenya Motor Industry Association (KMI).

Toyota Kenya recorded the highest sales growth, with its major rivals such as Isuzu East Africa and Simba Corporation also posting double-digit rise in orders.

“Sales are up because of the orders from the National Police Service,” Rita Kavashe, the chief executive of Isuzu, said.

She added that the industry’s sales for the full year ending December is forecast to reach 11,300 units, a level that will slightly surpass last year’s 11,044 units.

The KMI data shows that monthly orders have risen steadily since the start of the year, with peak sales recorded in September at 1,832 units.

Beneficiaries of the police tenders this year are Toyota which has supplied 706 vehicles, Isuzu (355), Subaru Kenya (100) and CMC Holdings (60), bringing the total to 1,221.

The dealers signed a deal to supply a total of 1,380 under the leasing programme, with the balance of 159 units expected to be delivered by year-end.

Toyota’s unit sales jumped 55.1 per cent to 3,030 in the review period compared to 1,935 the year before, cementing its position as the country’s second-largest dealer.

Besides its namesake trucks and cars, the company also sells Hino commercial vehicles.

Sales at Isuzu, the top new vehicle dealer, rose 16.8 per cent to 3,430 from 2,935. Isuzu is phasing out its Chevrolet car franchise, a move that will sell it focus entirely on its namesake commercial vehicles.

Simba Corporation, ranked third in the industry, also grew its sales including Mitsubishi trucks and Renault cars 11.7 per cent to 1,520 from 1,360.

The dealer is also phasing out its BMW franchise which is to be officially transferred to rival Inchcape Plc early next year.

The company, through its subsidiary Bavaria Auto, last month cut the price of its 25 new BMW cars by millions of shillings to clear the stocks.

SOURCE: businessdailyafrica.com

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