New registrations of motor vehicles and motorcycles in Kenya declined for the third consecutive year in 2024, with the commercial vehicle segment recording the steepest drop, official data reveals.
According to the 2025 Economic Survey by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS), newly registered road motor vehicles fell by 14.9% to 166,514 units in 2024, down from 195,656 units in 2023.
The report highlights sharp declines across several categories. Newly registered wheeled tractors dropped by 67.5% to 667 units, down from 2,054, while trailer registrations fell by 66.7% to 2,123 from 6,368 units.
Lorries and trucks saw a 60% drop in registrations, falling from 13,635 in 2023 to 5,456 in 2024. Buses and coaches declined by 53.5%, while saloon cars and minibuses dropped by 15.9% and 8.7%, respectively.
Despite the overall downturn in vehicle registrations, road transport remained the dominant force in Kenya’s transportation and storage sector.
The sector grew by 6.4% in 2024, reaching an estimated value of Ksh 3.5 trillion.
“Road transport continued to generate the highest output in the sector, contributing 75.1% in 2024, compared to 76% in 2023,” noted KNBS.
One exception to the downward trend was the station wagon category, which recorded a 4% increase in new registrations—from 61,711 in 2023 to 64,204 in 2024.
Motorcycle and three-wheeler registrations also declined. The total number of newly registered motor and autocycles, including three-wheelers, dropped by 4.7% to 72,868 units in 2024 from 76,451 in 2023.
Three-wheeler registrations alone plunged by 29.4%, from 5,760 units in 2023 to 4,064 in 2024.
Motor and autocycles (excluding three-wheelers) also registered a slight decline, falling from 70,691 units in 2023 to 68,804 in 2024.
