The Lower Eastern Times Opening The Third Eye
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Car and General, a leading automotive and equipment distributor, says it is experiencing a rebound in boda boda sales following a sharp decline in 2024.
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General Manager George Rubiri attributed the recovery to improved buyer financial discipline and a more stable economic climate. The 2024 sales dip had been largely driven by a rise in loan defaults that began during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Many customers began defaulting around 2021 due to reduced liquidity and a shift towards saving,” Rubiri explained.
The company responded by repossessing large numbers of motorcycles and reselling them, which temporarily slowed demand for new units.
Now, with most of those repossessed motorcycles cleared from the market, new sales have picked up. However, Rubiri acknowledged that the market had been previously oversupplied, compounded by the entry of many new brands, which made reselling second-hand bikes more difficult.
“We had flooded the market with two-wheelers, which contributed to a saturation,” he noted.
Current growth in demand is being fueled by wider access to financing, changing consumer spending habits, and improving macroeconomic conditions.
According to AA Kenya’s latest Autonews report, Kenya has over 2.2 million licensed boda boda riders, with the industry contributing nearly Sh1 billion daily to the economy—affirming its vital role in national GDP growth.
