New vehicle registration figures released by the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) show that Kenya’s motor vehicle market peaked in 2021 before heading into a downturn.
A total of 399,052 units including both motor vehicles and motorcycles were registered in 2021, up 15 percent from 346,729 units in 2020.
However, registrations fell sharply thereafter, dipping to 234,879 units in 2022, 195,656 in 2023 and 166,514 in the first four months of 2024.
Saloon cars and station wagons
Saloon car registrations, which numbered 7,754 in 2020, rose to 8,170 in 2021 but then declined to 6,350 in 2022 and stabilized around 6,378 in 2023.
So far in 2024, just 5,367 saloons have been registered a 16 percent drop on the same period last year.
Station wagons bucked the overall downtrend: after 57,962 units in 2020 they soared to 64,350 in 2021, dipped to 55,004 in 2022, then climbed back to 64,204 in 2024, as businesses and families sought versatile transport solutions.
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Commercial vehicles under pressure
Panel vans and pick-ups saw a particularly volatile ride, climbing from 6,065 registrations in 2020 to 12,957 in 2023 before halving to 5,879 in early 2024.
Lorry and truck registrations peaked at 13,635 in 2023 but have since fallen to 5,456 for 2024, mirroring an order-book slump among haulage operators.
Trailer registrations, too, dropped from 6,368 in 2023 to 2,123 in 2024, while wheeled tractors plunged from 2,818 in 2021 to just 667 so far in 2024.
Public transport and motorcycles
Bus and coach registrations climbed steadily from 900 in 2020 to 3,122 in 2023 before sliding back to 1,452 in 2024.
Likewise, mini-bus (Matatu) registrations ticked up to 1,579 in 2023, but dipped slightly to 1,441 in the current year.
Meanwhile, the motorcycle market has collapsed from its 2021 high of 291,553 units to just 72,868 in 2024, as rising fuel prices and tighter credit curbed purchases of both conventional two-wheelers and three-wheelers (down from 6,350 to 4,064).
