Isuzu East Africa and CFAO Mobility Kenya have the most popular models of trucks and buses, explaining their dominance in Kenya’s sales of new motor vehicles.
The eight commercial vehicle models with sales of more than 100 units in the first four months of the year –and representing nearly half of total industry orders— are bought at the showrooms of the two firms, according to data from the Kenya Motor Industry Association (KMI).
Isuzu has the largest collection of the top-selling models at six led by the Isuzu FRR 90N truck, which moved 717 units in the four months to April. Together, the top six Isuzu models registered sales of 1,617 units in the review period when total industry orders stood at 4,280.
CFAO, meanwhile, has two top-selling models –the Toyota Hiace van and the Sinotruk Howo truck— whose sales were 343 and 114 respectively.
The combined sales of the most popular models from Isuzu and CFAO amounted to 48.45 percent of the industry’s orders. The two dealers have additional models across the commercial and passenger vehicle segments, further augmenting their consolidated market shares to 48.5 percent for Isuzu and 30.5 percent for CFAO.
The remaining market share of 21 percent is dispersed among 10 dealers, some of whom recorded sales of less than 100 units over the four-month period.
Sales in the industry have become increasingly concentrated in commercial vehicles –pick-ups, buses, light and heavy duty trucks— whose demand comes from the government, manufacturers, traders and logistics operators among others.
The government has implemented policies discouraging imports of used commercial vehicles while offering incentives—including tax exemptions— for firms assembling their models locally with the objectives of creating jobs in the country and promoting industrialisation.
CFAO and Isuzu have been well positioned to benefit from the ascendance of commercial vehicles sales, with dealers primarily offering passenger cars hobbled by competition from used imports and reduced spending by private firms and wealthy individuals.
Total passenger vehicle sales stood at 559 units in the four months to April, representing a 13 percent market share. This was down from the same period in 2019 when they registered sales of 692 units which gave them a market share of 17.8 percent, according to KMI data.
Isuzu’s namesake commercial vehicle models are bought by schools, public transport operators, traders, farmers, construction firms and government departments including the National Police Service.
The dealer recently expanded its lineup of commercial vehicles with the signing of the Nissan Diesel franchise. CFAO targets a similar clientele with its Toyota, Hino and Sinotruk franchises.
While annual sales of new vehicles are still off the peak of 19,253 units recorded in 2015, demand for commercial models has declined at a relatively slower pace compared to passenger cars.
