• Cars are of poor quality contribute significantly to air pollution and hinder efforts to mitigate the effects of climate change.
• The transport sector is responsible for nearly a quarter of energy-related global greenhouse gas emission.
Image: FILE
Used vehicles being shipped from overseas are of poor quality, contribute significantly to air pollution and hinder efforts to mitigate the effects of climate change.
This is according to a report by the UN Environment Programme set to be launched today.
'Used Vehicles and the Environment - A Global Overview of Used Light-Duty Vehicles: Flow, Scale and Regulation' calls for action to fill the current policy vacuum with the adoption of harmonised minimum quality standards that will ensure cleaner and safer fleets in importing countries.
The report warns that the fast-growing global vehicle fleet is a major contributor to air pollution and climate change. The transport sector is responsible for nearly a quarter of energy-related global greenhouse gas emission.
Specifically, vehicle emission is a significant source of the fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and nitrogen oxides that are major causes of urban air pollution. The report shows that between 2015 and 2018, 14 million used light-duty vehicles were exported worldwide.
Some 80 per cent went to low- and middle-income countries, with more than half going to Africa. Since the liberalisation of the automotive industry in Kenya in the 1990s, Kenya largely relies on used vehicles to meet vehicle demand.
In fact, more than 95 per cent of all light-duty vehicles imported in Kenya are used vehicles. They come from Japan, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Thailand and South Africa, with the largest source being Japan where vehicles are righthand drive.
Most used vehicles are imported through dealers. However, increasingly individual citizens are importing online.
There is significant year-on-year growth in the automotive industry, with the number of newly registered vehicles increasing by more than 10 per cent since 2017, according to Economic Survey 2020.
The report says Kenya imported 14,369 saloon cars in 2015, 12,490 in 2016, 11,376 in 2017, 10,504 in 2018 and 9,971 last year. It says the country imported 54,120 station wagons in 2015, 46,123 in 2016, 55,322 in 2017, 64,179 in 2018 and 75,512 in 2019.
The panel vans and pickups imported in 2015 were 13,878. In 2016, 12,722 panel vans were imported before being followed by another 9,866 in 2017 and 11,220 in 2018. Some 10,189 panel vans and pickups were imported last year.
More than 90 per cent of all imports are petrol vehicles, with most of the vehicles having an engine capacity of between 1,400- 2,000 cc. Kenya has, however, adopted an age restriction of eight years.
About 80 per cent of all vehicles imported are between seven and eight years old from the date of manufacture. The second-largest import group is for light-duty and heavy-duty vehicles that are one to two years old.
Light-duty vehicles are those that do not exceed a gross weight of 3.5 tonnes and include saloon cars, SUVs and minibuses.
Vehicles above 3.5 tonnes are categorised as heavy-duty vehicles and these include trucks and buses. As a result, Kenya has a relatively modern and clean fleet, especially compared to other countries in East Africa.
To benefit from the import of used vehicles not older than eight years, Kenya introduced clean fuel standards that ensure the right fuel is available for the vehicles.
Kenya introduced low sulphur fuels of max 50 parts per million in 2015. The average unit cost of an imported road vehicle in 2019 was US$8,382 compared to US$ 9,080 in 2018, according to Economic Survey 2020.
National Environment Management Authority director general Mamo Mamo told the Star that the country is aware of the magnitude of the problem brought about by secondhand vehicles.
“This quarter, we will be rolling out Air Quality 2014. It has not been rolled out due to some challenges such as lack of funds,” Mamo said.
A technical team from Nema and the National Transport and Safety Authority is set to establish testing centres for emission. They are also considering a gadget that controls emission.
Mamo revealed that the country is relying on vehicle reports done outside the country each time a vehicle is shipped in. The Kenya Bureau of Standards requires that all imported vehicles go through a pre-export verification of conformity to the KS 1515:2000 standards.
In 2019, Kenya adopted EURO 4/IV vehicle emission standards that will apply to all vehicles — new and used, imported and locally produced. However, the implementation modalities are still being worked out by a multi-stakeholder team.
Under discussion is the two-year waiver requested by local vehicle producers to meet these regulations. Age limit could play a key role in facilitating a shift to stricter emission standards.
As a result of the age limit, all used petrol cars imported in the 2015-16 period were Euro 4 and 5, with the majority, 115,000 out of 120,000 imported light-duty ones, being Euro 4. For diesel vehicles, 85 per cent were Euro IV, V, and VI (28,000 out of a total imported 33,000).
Vehicle owners are required to pay several taxes as a percentage of the customs value before their vehicles can be registered. These are import duty (25 per cent), Excise Duty (between 20-30 per cent) depending on vehicle engine capacity), Value Added Tax (16 per cent), Import Declaration Fees (two per cent), and Railway Development Levy (1.5 per cent). Electric vehicles have a reduced Excise Duty (10 per cent).
There are no restrictions on imports based on mileage. Unep experts say the lack of effective standards and regulation is resulting in the dumping of old, polluting and unsafe vehicles.
The report, based on an in-depth analysis of 146 countries, found that some two-thirds of them have ‘weak’ or ‘very weak’ policies to regulate the import of used vehicles.
However, it also shows that where countries have implemented measures to govern the import of used vehicles—notably age and emission standards—these give them access to high-quality used vehicles, including hybrid and electric cars, at affordable prices.
For example, Morocco only permits the import of vehicles less than five years old and those meeting the EURO4 European vehicles emission standard; as a result, it receives only relatively advanced and clean used vehicles from Europe.
The report found that African countries imported the largest number of used vehicles (40 per cent) in the period studied, followed by countries in Eastern Europe (24 per cent), Asia-Pacific (15 per cent), the Middle East (12 per cent) and Latin America (nine per cent).
It concludes that more research is needed to detail further the impacts of trade in used vehicles, including that of heavy-duty used vehicles.