Isuzu East Africa has tightened its grip on Kenya’s new vehicle market, racing further ahead of CFAO Mobility Kenya as unit sales rebounded in 2025 on the back of easing financing costs and a stable shilling.
Data from the Kenya Motor Industry Association (KMIA) shows that new vehicle sales rose to 13,583 units in 2025, up from 11,352 the previous year, a 19.65 percent increase.
The recovery marks a turnaround after three years of subdued demand on a raft of shocks, including high interest rates, currency volatility, increased taxation and delayed payment to government contractors.
Isuzu was the biggest driver of rebound in showroom vehicles, growing sales of its pick-ups, buses, trucks and SUVs from 5,390 units in 2024 to 6,494 in 2025 – a jump of 20.48 percent.
This marginally lifted its market share to 47.81 from 47.48 percent, meaning nearly one out of every two new vehicles sold was an Isuzu model.
The gains have widened the gap between Isuzu and CFAO Mobility Kenya, underscoring the strength of the commercial vehicle segment relative to private cars.
CFAO – the dealer for Toyota, Mercedes, Volkswagen and Hino – posted a 16.39 percent increase in sales, from 3,789 units to 4,410 in the period under review.
However, its market share slipped from 33.4 to 32.5 percent, as Isuzu expanded at a faster pace and smaller players like Scania East Africa and Salvador Caetano Kenya posted growth.
Industry players say the turnaround has been underpinned by improving macro-economic conditions. The shilling enjoyed its most stable run against the dollar in decades in 2025, hovering around the Sh129 level for 16 months since August 2024.
The stability reduced pricing uncertainty for imported vehicles and parts, while improving business confidence.
Borrowing costs also eased, with the average lending rate by banks falling to 14.88 percent in November 2025 from a recent peak of 17.22 percent in November 2024.
That followed successive benchmark interest rate cuts by the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK), which has trimmed its key lending rate from 13 percent in mid-2024 to nine percent currently, easing the cost of financing vehicle purchases.
Isuzu EA Sales and Marketing Director, Wanjohi Kangangi, said in November last year that the improving environment had unlocked demand, particularly among businesses.
“Interest rates have gone down, so many businesses are taking loans. Some of the payments that had been stuck for government contractors have begun coming through,” he said.
Mr Kangangi added that customers who could not invest were now expanding operations.
“By and large, we are in a good spot. People feel they are more stable than they were in recent years," he said.
He added that Isuzu had intensified customer engagement to support the recovery.
“There is some stability and this is what businesses want. We have held events across the country to meet customers and ensure things are okay. We wanted to ensure the financing programmes we crafted were working for them," he said.
Simba Corp grew sales from 977 to 1,134 units, Tata from 432 to 558 and Scania from 201 to 286. Brands focused on private passenger vehicles continued to struggle.
