Isuzu says used car habit curbs regional industry growth

Isuzu East Africa Managing Director Rita Kavashe.

Secondhand Asian imports are the biggest challenge to the growth of car manufacturing in East Africa, an executive at Japan’s Isuzu, which is trying to tap into its emerging middle class, said on Wednesday.

With some of the continent’s fastest-growing economies, carmakers including VW and Volvo, are setting up plants in the region in an effort to lure drivers in countries such as Kenya and Rwanda away from used cars.