Dealers Under Pressure as Number Plate Shortage Hits Kenya’s Car Market

Kenya, 26 November 2025 - Vehicle dealers say the shortage, affecting numberplate series KDVW, X, Y and Z, arrived unannounced and has stalled most transactions. “There is an industry outcry and it is a big one. It (shortage) has persisted for the past three weeks,” said Kenya Auto Bazaar Association (KABA) Secretary General Charles Munyori. Without plates, dealers can neither complete bank transfers nor deliver cars to buyers, creating cashflow whiplash ahead of a period that usually sees heightened sales.

Dealers are now forced to store vehicles, at the Customs Container Freight Stations in the Port of Mombasa. That means extra storage fees, looming loan repayments, and growing frustration among customers who paid for cars but cannot legally drive them.

For customers, the wait has been agonizing. A buyer may pay the standard KSh 3,000 for the plate, only to wait weeks while the car sits idle. With no plate, the car is unusable, and some dealers fear they may have to offload vehicles at reduced prices just to stay afloat.

The shortage boils down to a production bottleneck at the facility that manufactures Kenya’s license plates. According to a 2024 report, plates are produced at the Kamiti Maximum Security Prison. The plant reportedly has capacity to print about 1,000 plates daily, but demand, driven by surging car imports and registrations, has overwhelmed supply.

Importers argue that the problem worsened after the authorities failed to pay the prison’s commercial department, bringing production to a halt earlier this year. As a result, hundreds, even thousands, of vehicles now sit unregistered, unable to leave customs warehouses.

In May 2025, NTSA issued a statement saying it had delivered a fresh batch of plates and asked vehicle owners and dealers to collect them. Board Chair Khatib Mwashetani said normal supply had resumed. Yet just months later, as dealers delivered warnings, plates are again in short supply. The authority has remained largely silent on what triggered the relapse. As of the latest reporting, NTSA had not provided a public explanation.