If you are looking to buy a second hand imported Vitz, you will have to fork out Sh. 1.3 million or more. This is as the cost of the Toyota Vitz second hand vehicle rises to record levels.
At the same time, you will have to cough up around Sh. 1.3 million to get yourself a Mazda Demio.
The cost of a Nissan Note has also risen to highs of Sh. 1.2 million. The cost of the second hand cars has been aggravated by the depreciation of the local currency against the US dollar which is commonly used in the transactions.
At the same time, the government has hiked taxes on imported cars, further straining the ability of a majority of Kenyans to own the second vehicles which in local market are considered “new”.
The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has increased duty on imported cars to 35 per cent from the previous 25 per cent.
With a majority of people now resulting to locally used purchases, the local market for used cars has also seen a spike in the prices of locally used vehicles.
According to the Kenya Auto Bazaar Association secretary general Charles Munyori, buyers of second hand imported vehicles are also resulting to cheaper imported models to cope up with the hiked prices.
“What we see happening is that people are going to change their preferences because of higher prices. Some people who would have preferred to buy a Prado, for example, may decide to import a Nissan X-Trail,” Munyori told local media.
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He added that the strain is also being experienced by importers who are now shipping in few units.
“For importers, if you are bringing in 10 Toyota Harriers, you may cut it to seven because of the high costs,” he said.
Currently, importation of vehicles attracts excise duty ranging from 25 per cent to 35 per cent depending on the size of the engine, while the standard 16 per cent VAT is also applied.
Excise tax is charged on sum of landed cost of the car and import duty while VAT is applied on the resultant value.