Kebs warns used car dealers to adhere to age limit

Importers of used cars should complete import arrangements for cars whose year of registration is 2002 by end of November, the national consumer standards body has directed.

In a fresh bid to rid the country of unroadworthy vehicles, the Kenya Bureau of Standards (Kebs), on Wednesday cautioned importers against bringing vehicles that exceed the set eight-year age limit beyond the December deadline.

Kebs wants importers to furnish it with the details of the vehicles in the import pipeline by the end of November and further, to ensure that shipment is complete by the end of the year.

Mr John Wepukhulu, Kebs manager in charge of quality and standards says the grace period of upto three months given in previous years will no longer apply.

As such, importers of vehicles registered in 2002 are advised to ensure that such vehicles arrive in Kenya by December 31, 2009.

“We are cautioning importers to move fast and ensure inspection by the end of November so that they can arrive by the end of December. Previously, there have been several rollover cases. We want to avoid that during 2010,” he told the Business Daily during a telephone interview.

Kebs says that the Japan Exports Vehicles Inspection Centre (Jevic), the Kebs accredited inspector, will not accept bookings for 2002 models after the end of November deadline unless the importers can provide proof of airfreight.

Beginning January next year, only vehicles that were first registered in 2003 will be allowed into the country, provided they meet other Kebs safety pre-export requirements.

Vehicles imported into Kenya must be less than 8 years old, be right-hand drive, and must pass a safety and mechanical inspection.

The aim of this mandatory inspection is to minimise the risk associated with unsafe and substandard vehicles entering the Kenyan market and to ensure health, safety and environmental protection for users.

“To avoid inconveniences due to possible non-compliance, during the rollover period, vehicles with year of registration 2002 should be inspected in the country of supply by (Jevic),” Kebs said on Monday.

Mr Charles Munyori, an official of the Kenya Auto Bazaar Association (Kaba) promised that its members would comply with the law.

Road worthiness

“The older a vehicle is the cheaper it becomes, so importers are able to buy top of the range vehicles, which they could otherwise not afford, if they were less than eight years old,” said Munyori.

“As long as we allow vehicles from our neighbours who have no age limit to pass through our country, implementing the age limit regulation will remain a challenge to us.

The number of used car imports has grown by about 40 per cent every year since 2002. Currently, the ratio of used cars to new ones is almost 1:7.

But Mr Munyori says this year’s vehicle imports will be lower than 2008 when some 121,831 units were registered.

In the recent past, there have been ongoing discussion about how to eliminate used car imports.

This comes against the background of the global economic crisis which continues to deal a blow to new motor vehicle dealers.

About 80,000 units are imported annually while locally assembled units are estimated at about at 13,000.

There are two types of motor vehicle assembly plants in Kenya: Franchise assemblers and contract assemblers.

General Motors (EA) is a franchise assembler for Isuzu while Associated Vehicle Assemblers (Ava) in Mombasa and Kenya Vehicle Manufacturers in Thika are contract assemblers contracted by local franchise holders to assemble vehicles for them.

Kebs only recently appointed Jevic to conduct Pre-export Roadworthiness Inspection (RWI) of used motor vehicles from Japan and Dubai, destined for use within Kenya.