Toyota Vitz, one of the budget cars in the country is now selling for over Ksh1.07 million in a surprise move that has seen the price of used cars soar by an average of 37 percent.
Initially, the car, arguably the most common brand among its peers, would go for around Ksh700,000 inclusive of taxes. The new price is a 44 percent price jump.
The landing cost of a used Nissan Note is up 39 percent to Ksh938,000, making car ownership in Kenya an expensive affair.
An X-Trail, which used to retail for around Ksh2 million is now going for Ksh2.84 million, while a Rav 4, which used to go for around Ksh1.5 million is now going for Ksh2.22million.
The price of a Toyota Harrier is now Ksh3.64 million, up from Ksh2.22million while the price of a Premio has increased to Ksh1.2 million from Ksh1.6 million.
Toyota Prado, a luxury car associated with the political class, is now going for Ksh4.7 million up from Ksh3.6 million.
The jump in prices has been attributed to a global shortage in supply, even as manufacturers cut production due to shortages of semiconductors used in electronic devices.
In recent times, there have been global shortage of computer chips used in car production, as well as other materials such as copper, aluminium and cobalt.
The shortage can also be associated with the weakening of the Kenyan shilling against the US dollar, which has hit a low of Ksh113.80 in recent weeks.
