Simba Colt in plan to counter used car market

Simba Colt Motors plans to introduce new smaller engine passenger cars to meet Kenyan consumer needs and stave off competition from imported used cars. The firm which sells the Mitsubishi range plans to bring in cars with engine capacity between 1200 cc to 1500 cc in coming months, lower than its flagship Mitsubishi Lancer brand.

Ameet Shroff, General manager sales at Simba Colt says showroom car sales have slumped this year, a situation being felt across the industry. He attributes the lower sales of new cars to the high interest rates, high taxation regime and also invasion of the second hand cars in the market.

“The motor industry is not doing so well this year, especially the passenger cars. High interest rate has direct effect on showroom prices of vehicles, since new vehicles are primarily funded by bank credit,” Shroff said on Thursday night. Data from the KMI shows that the total new vehicle market grew 10 per cent year-on-year (in 2011.Total vehicle sales in 2012 are expected to increase by 9.42 per cent to 12,769 units, reaching 17,828 units in 2016

He was speaking during the launch of the new Mitsubishi Pajero Sport which targets the high end consumers. The Pajero Sport comes with a 2.5 litre, Common rail, turbocharged, intercooled engine which is considered efficient in the SUV category. “We are optimistic the new model will be successful in this market considering the rich history of the Mitsubishi brand in Kenya,” he said.