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Dealer invests Sh1.4 bn in Chinese cars assembly
Guests admire the Jetour T1 during the unveiling of Jetour’s latest car models at the official launch event held at Eka Hotel, Mombasa Road on November 7, 2025.
Photo credit: Wilfred Nyangaresi | Nation Media Group
Global Motors Centre, the distributor appointed to sell Jetour brand of cars in the Kenyan market, is investing Sh1.4 billion to start assembling the Chinese models in Mombasa from the first quarter of 2026.
Local assembly will see the firm benefit from several tax incentives, enabling it to cut its introductory showroom prices that are substantially lower than the sticker prices of some rival Japanese and European brands in the same categories.
Global Motors has started selling four sports utility vehicle (SUV) Jetour models at prices ranging from Sh4.9 million to Sh7.8 million, inclusive of taxes.
“We are going to start assembling the Jetour models in the first quarter of 2026 at our Mombasa plant. The investment in the Jetour line is about Sh1.4 billion,” Ali Zubedi, Managing Director of GMC, told the Business Daily.
He said the Jetour line marks an expansion of the plant which has been assembling FAW trucks that are sold by Global Motors’ sister company TransAfrica Motors.
With local assembly, Mr Zubedi said the company plans to lower the Jetour prices due to tax incentives offered to local assemblers.
The government exempts assemblers from the import duty of 35 percent levied on fully built vehicles. Completely knocked down (CKD) parts headed to assembly plants are also exempt from 20 percent to 35 percent excise duty levied on imports of fully built vehicles, depending on the engine capacity and fuel type.
Assemblers also pay a lower import declaration fee of 2.5 percent compared to the standard 3.5 percent. The two percent Railway Development Levy (RDL) is also reduced to 1.5 percent for assemblers.
Local assembly can lower vehicle prices by up to millions of shillings, with dealers of commercial units such as pick-ups, trucks and buses making the biggest investment in local production.
Global Motors is among the passenger car dealers also moving to tap into tax incentives to gain a pricing advantage in a market where used imports dominate sales.
The company unveiled four Jetour models –the T2 priced at Sh7.8 million, T1 (Sh7.4 million), X70 Plus (Sh5 million) and Dashing (Sh4.9 million).
Jetour, part of Chinese automaker Chery Group, was founded in 2018 and has sold over one million SUVs worldwide. The brand's entry in Kenya will intensify competition in its target segment where its major rivals include CFAO Mobility Kenya and Inchcape Kenya.
CFAO’s lineup of SUV models include Toyota RAV4, Landcruiser Prado, and Mercedes GLC. Inchcape’s SUV models include Land Rover Discovery, BMW X3, and Changan Oshan.
The Toyota Urban Cruiser, RAV4 and Fortuner are selling at Sh4.8 million, Sh7.4 million and Sh10 million respectively, according to CFAO Mobility’s website.
Jetour’s entry comes amid a rise in local assembly output and new vehicle sales buoyed by falling lending rates and stable foreign exchange rates.
New vehicle sales rose 24.56 percent in the first nine months of 2025 to 9,924 units from 7,967 in the same period last year, a six-year high, per Kenya Motor Industry Association data.
The majority were commercial vehicles like heavy-duty trucks, mini-buses and pick-up trucks assembled at Isuzu.
