Japanese strong eyes Kenyan market for used car parts

Posted on : Friday , 5th April 2024

With the launch of its sale for used auto accessories and spare parts, Japanese trading company Kaiho Industry Co. Limited has its sights set on both retail and wholesale customers.

As the company saw Kenya as the entry point to the larger East African used parts market, it held its first auction day in Nairobi, drawing local suppliers and dealers of automotive parts.

"Bringing spare parts to Kenya is our dream," Many of our clients travel to Japan in search of spare parts. We decided that it would be preferable to take the spare parts home," Lucy Koyama, an African Business Consultant at Kaiho, said. "Anyone can bid; we are not specifically targeting large wholesalers." Bidders are registering with the company to take part in the auction, which is scheduled to take place twice a month.

Mobile money will be used to settle deals in the sale, with payments made in Kenyan Shillings. Local auto dealers who purchased parts from other dealers abroad and from Kaiho in Japan are anticipated to gain from the local auction by avoiding the need for imports and generating foreign exchange savings.

We have been ordering spare parts from Japan for our long-standing partnership with Kaiho. One spare parts dealer with a store on Nairobi's Kirinyaga Road said, "We are grateful that they started a local auction because we can now order parts from here."

The Japanese company claims that it will boost sales frequency in response to consumer demand, with the long-term goal of reaching customers in other East African markets through online sales.

"We plan to hold an auction twice a month at first, and then once a week based on how well our customers respond. Ten to twenty containers of spare parts per month are what we plan to offload," Koyama stated.

The multinational company has established itself close to the Embakasi Inland Container Depot (ICD) at the Atlantis Business Park.

It is necessary for participants in the auction to register and place their bids online. Winning bids must match the reserve price for each item sold.

The current used spare parts market, where dealers and customers negotiate over prices, is anticipated to significantly diverge from the auction model.

The auction will feature engines, gearboxes, headlights, doors and door parts, nose cuts, and bumpers among its inventory.