Nearly all decent vehicles are 1800cc and above eg Rav4, xtrail, c200, forester, premio, golf etc. Middle class in big trouble. Soon all will be rolling in vitzs.

Munya should know that Kenya doesn't manufacture any vehicles. All Toyota Kenya, GM and others do is import the vehicles in pieces put in big wooden boxes. Then they hire mechanics to fasten the bolts of the various parts together to get a complete vehicle. That surely isn't manufacturing. So I don't understand which is this manufacturing sector he wants to protect.

Govt should ensure that local car prices are in line with global car prices. That way Kenyans will buy new cars. But the current situation is crazy. For instance a 2019 Rav 4 is going for 2.5m in the US but it is 7m in kenya. That 2.5m is what Kenyans are paying for 8yr old Rav 4 mtumba junks from japan. NB a 2019 corolla is 1.8m in the US where incomes are much higher than in Kenya while its 4m in Kenya. Total madness in ke. Seems everything in this world is schemed to be against mwafrika, even his own govt.

https://www.toyota.com/rav4/

Let's give them benefit of doubt. We ship too much money out of kenya in the name of cars. Would encourage any effort to keep part of this money in kenya and create jobs right here. Of greater importance is that globally, the automobile industry is ripe for paradigm shift. I wish we could position ourselves to be on the cutting edge of this shift

Ever heard of Mobius? Ever heard of VW assembling cars in Kenya? Even if many of the parts are not made in Kenya, the assembly plants will create some local jobs. Of course Jubilee not good in planning..for instance would not be surprised nobody has worked out 1) how many 'new' cars are imported every year 2) Revenue that govt gets 3) Whether existing plants will meet the demand 4) whether the created jobs will earn govt more revenue.maybe they've worked this out, maybe not.. that's why i said 'let's give them benefit of doubt'. But it's a shame that we still import whole cars over 100 yrs since the first car was made.

That local assembly thing is a big scam and a major drain on the economy.

1) they are given major tax breaks by govt meaning they are basically subsidized by the tax payer. And all they do is import the new cars in boxes as parts and then hire some spanner boys to join the parts together.
2) they sell the new cars at double the global prices
3) they dictate the prices of imported vehicles because the govt calculates duty based on the selling price of locally assembled vehicles, the CSRP. That is why an 8yr old corolla costing 400k in japan or UK ends up costing 1.2m in kenya because duty is calculated based on the inflated cost of 4m that toyota kenya sells the corolla locally despite the global price price of a new corolla being 1.3m.

This "economically unsound" scenario has ensured that local assemblers are happy even if they sell a handful of new vehicles per year coz the margins are too high and tax incentives too sweet. In the end Kenya and kenyans end up loosing alot of cash in foreign exchange.

You description has tickled me.... anywho, they are known as CKDs {Completely Knocked Down). This is quite common. Most vehicle manufacturers opt for parts from different countries and this is largely informed by cost of production. As an example the Audi R8 is assembled in a factory in Neckarsal,Germany. Material for its aluminum body is sourced From Brazil, pressed and formed in USA. Other parts are made in countries as far as India and Australia.... Ni biachara my fren. Not a bad move if you ask me

I applaud the move but more need to be done on imports....lets make our own ngothas and boxers. We might eliminate these terrorist just by that one move.

I actually think this is a good move. It will create opportunity for motor vehicle manufacture and assembly in our country. Only sad bit is that only the corrupt thieves will be able to afford gazzlers.

That is where the pain is. Uhuru just pembelezas them when opening those assembly plans with statements such as "My government urges manufacturers to make the prices affordable to Kenyans". The corporates heads and pretty faces in attendance clap their hands but the prices still remain huko juu kwa rooftop. Munya should not be chest thumping on TV but instead should be busy coming up with a legislative bill to force these manufacturers from fleecing Kenyans. Kama hawezi chora policy ya pricing he should let us continue importing jalopies from Japan and stop disturbing long suffering wananchi with kizungu mingi and hollow bravado