staging
During the pre-covid period in Kenya, most compact cars were selling at under 1M. But this has since changed. As newer models are imported as well as increase in taxes, many of the previously affordable cars have gone beyond Kshs 1M in Kenya. Chip shortages experinced by car manufacturers has also held up production, leading to increase of prices of available units. Prices of used cars in Kenya has jumped almost by 55% in the past year, leading to a loss of consumer confidence.
There is a recent influx of compact ‘tall wagons’ to the subcompact cars portfolio in Kenya. These tall wagons offer more spacious interior than the traditional compact cars. These include Suzuki Wagon R, Nissan Cube, Suzuki Hustler, Mitsubishi EK wagon etc. Most of these wagons are used for taxi/Online ride-hailing cabs.
These high prices have also led to Kenyan car buyers ditch the very popular Toyota models in favour of cheaper Mazda, Honda and Nissan models. As things stand now, there are fewer and fewer car models costing less than Kshs 1M. Below are car models that you can still buy at less than Kshs 1M as foreign used. As with other car types, purchasing of these cars is possible using hire purchase aka lipa mdogo mdogo, bank financing or cash
| Car | Approximate price | |
| Nissan Advan | Kshs 850,000 | Check Availability |
| Nissan Note | Kshs 900,000 | Check Availability |
| Toyota Passo | Kshs 900,000 | Check Availability |
| Suzuki Every | Kshs 950,000 | Check Availability |
| Nissan Cube | Kshs 850,000 | Check Availability |
| Suzuki Alto | Kshs 700,000 | Check Availability |
| Daihatsu Mira | Kshs 850,000 | Check Availability |
| Suzuki Wagon R | Kshs 850,000 | Check Availability |
| Nissan March | Kshs 850,000 | Check Availability |
| Suzuki Hustler | Kshs 960,000 | Check Availability |
| Nissan Dayz | Kshs 850,000 | Check Availability |
| Mitsubishi EK wagon | Kshs 750,000 | Check Availability |
| Mazda Carol | Kshs 800,000 | Check Availability |
It should be noted that most of the cars costing less than 1M in kenya are likely to be underpowered. Engine sizes for these cars range from 650cc to at most 1300cc. You are unlikely to find a more powerfull car at that price point.
Almost all of these cars are Japanese models. Ex-Japan cars constitute most of the sales in Kenya. However, there are also German models popular in Kenya including Volkswagen, Mercedes, Audi etc. However, these are expensive and you are unlikely to find units costing less than 1M unless they are locally used
