A crippling shortage of number plates has locked up more than 7,000 vehicles at the Port of Mombasa and container freight stations, leaving Kenya’s car importers and dealers battling steep losses and stalled sales.

At the heart of the crisis is an unpaid government bill. According to the Kenya Car Importers Association, debts that have piled up since February 2025 have left the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) unable to print number plates and logbooks — essential documents for clearing vehicles from customs yards.

Peter Otieno, chairman of the association, did not hold back in describing the impasse.

“The government has not paid the suppliers, so they cannot print the logbooks and the number plates in Ruaraka. You cannot get a vehicle from the CFS without these documents,” he said.

The repercussions are rippling across the industry. Car yards are choked with unsold units, and buyers are stuck with temporary KD numbers that cost Sh1,000 per day.

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One dealer, speaking to Citizen TV, confessed, “I sold a car in January, and until now the customer has not received the number plate.”

Another, frustrated by daily operational hurdles, said, “New vehicles are rarely registered. There are no number plates; allocation is even more difficult because the systems are always down, so you can barely allocate a vehicle for a whole day.”

Otieno noted that the longer the delays drag on, the more traders are being forced into financial losses, slashing prices just to move older stock.

“For example, by next month, the vehicles that were registered in March cannot be sold at the same price as the vehicles that will be registered in April or May. You have to accept that you have recorded losses,” he explained.

This is not the first time Kenya’s auto sector has faced such turmoil. Nine months ago, in June, the country experienced a similar disruption.

Yet, when concerns flared again this year, the NTSA issued a firm rebuttal in August.

It claimed the problem lay not in supply but in dealer inefficiency, stating, “There is no shortage. Dealers are currently collecting their plates from the centres they identified during the application process.”

For now, however, dealers remain adamant that government inaction is to blame and warn that if the deadlock continues, it could cripple the sector even further, driving up holding costs and eroding profit margins.

Many are now anxiously waiting for the government to unlock funds, settle the outstanding debts, and allow the NTSA to resume production and distribution of the much-needed number plates.