How to Import Cars from China to Kenya (2026): The Right-Hand-Drive Gate, CRSP Valuation and EV Excise

Most guides to importing Chinese cars into Kenya skip the first question, which is whether the car can legally be sold there at all. We will start with it, because it disqualifies more shipments than duty ever does.

The Right-Hand-Drive Gate

Kenya admits right-hand-drive vehicles only, and enforces an absolute ban on left-hand-drive vehicles for general road use. Most Chinese manufacturers build their export volume left-hand drive, and right-hand-drive variants exist for a narrower set of models aimed at the UK, Japan, Australia, South Africa and the ASEAN right-hand-drive markets.

This is the honest position: we will not tell you a model is available in right-hand drive because it would be convenient. Send us the model you want and we confirm whether a factory right-hand-drive variant exists before you commit to anything. Where it does not, converting steering is not a route we recommend for a market with type-approval and inspection requirements.

The 2026 Age Rule

Kenya operates an eight-year age limit under KS 1515, the Kenya Standard Code of Practice for Inspection of Road Vehicles, administered by the Kenya Bureau of Standards.

From 1 January 2026, only right-hand-drive vehicles whose year of first registration is 1 January 2019 or later may be imported. The rule moves forward each January, so a unit that qualifies in December will not qualify in January. If you are buying used, check the date of first registration rather than the model year, because those are not always the same.

For a new, zero-kilometre Chinese vehicle the age rule is not a constraint at all — which is one reason new units, rather than used, are the sensible way into this market.

Kenya Values Your Car, You Do Not

Kenya's own customs valuation of your car is the trap that makes most landed-cost estimates for Kenya wrong.

Kenya Revenue Authority does not assess duty on your commercial invoice. It values the vehicle from its CRSP schedule, a published current retail selling price list, depreciated for the age of the unit. Every duty and tax line is then computed from that figure.

If the CRSP value for your model is higher than your CIF, the entire stack scales up with it, and the cheap FOB you negotiated does not protect you. Before you commit, get the CRSP entry for the exact model, trim and year, and run the arithmetic on that.

The Tax Stack

On the assessed value, Kenya applies:

1. Import duty — 25%.

2. Excise duty — 10% for electric and hybrid vehicles; 20% to 35% for petrol and diesel, banded by engine size.

3. VAT — 16%, computed on the value plus duty plus excise.

4. Import Declaration Fee — 3.5%.

5. Railway Development Levy — 2%.

The excise line is where powertrain choice pays. A battery-electric or hybrid unit sits at 10% while a large-engined petrol equivalent can carry 35%, and because VAT is computed on a base that includes excise, the saving compounds rather than simply subtracting.

Our import cost calculator models this stack with the rates and their sources. Treat its output as a shape check, then re-run it on the CRSP value for your exact model.

Conformity Happens Before Loading, Not After

Kenya operates a Pre-Export Verification of Conformity programme. Regulated goods, vehicles included, must be inspected in the country of export by a KEBS-appointed conformity assessment body, and the shipment must travel with a Certificate of Conformity or a Certificate of Roadworthiness.

This is a pre-shipment obligation. A container that arrives in Mombasa without the certificate is not a paperwork problem to solve on the quay, it is a shipment that should not have sailed. Build the inspection into the timeline before you book freight, and confirm which body will issue the certificate for a China-origin unit.

A Worked Example

Take a 20,000 USD FOB battery-electric SUV, 1,500 USD freight, 200 USD insurance, and assume for illustration that the assessed value matches the 21,700 USD CIF.

Import duty at 25% is 5,425. Excise at the 10% electric rate, on value plus duty, is 2,713. The Import Declaration Fee is 760 and the Railway Development Levy is 434. VAT at 16%, on value plus duty plus excise and levies, is 4,965.

Landed cost before port charges and clearing: 35,996 USD, of which 14,296 USD is tax. The same unit as a large petrol SUV at the top excise band would land materially higher.

Remember the caveat: if the CRSP figure for that model exceeds 21,700 USD, every line above rises with it.

Is Kenya Worth It?

For a dealer who can source right-hand-drive Chinese stock, yes — the electric excise band is genuinely favourable and the market is under-served. For a dealer who cannot, the honest answer is that neighbouring left-hand-drive markets will be easier and faster, and we would rather tell you that than sell you a shipment that cannot register.

If you want to test the market, start with one confirmed right-hand-drive unit rather than a container, prove the conformity and clearance path end to end, and scale after that. See the export catalogue for current models, or the brand pages if you are narrowing by manufacturer.

Confirm Before You Order

Three things to have in writing before any deposit: that a factory right-hand-drive variant of your chosen model exists, the CRSP entry for that exact model and year, and which KEBS-appointed body will issue the Certificate of Conformity in China.

Send us the model, quantity and destination and we will confirm feasibility honestly, including telling you when the answer is no.

Sources: Kenya Bureau of Standards — Pre-Export Verification of Conformity · KEBS PVoC manual · Kenya Revenue Authority — motor vehicle importation procedure.