Import used engines to Kenya: KEBS PVoC and Mombasa
Kenya is one of the busiest used-engine lanes in Africa, and one of the most orderly — if the conformity paperwork is arranged before the container sails, not after it arrives at Mombasa.
Wholesale onlyRegular orders are one full container — 90 engines in a 20-ft or 130 in a 40-ft, or with gearboxes 45 + 45 / 65 + 65. New customers can make their first purchase from 10 engines (10, 20, 30 or 40), with gearboxes and consolidated shipping, at list price, with no first-order surcharge (LCL freight quoted separately): first-order offer. A second order can start from 45 engines, also at list price. We do not sell single units.
More modelsBeyond the models on this page we hold many more — 488 engine and gearbox families in our warehouse list, always subject to inventory changes. Tell us how many units you need so we can give you the best price: full stock list.
The models Kenya actually buys
The Kenyan parc decides the load. Probox, Vitz, Corolla and the taxi fleet mean the Toyota 1NZ-FE and 2NZ-FE are the volume of the trade, with the 2ZR-FE following the newer Corolla population. Diesel demand follows the Hilux and Hiace fleet.
A first Kenyan container is usually weighted toward 1NZ and 2NZ — complete Grade A units a counter can sell on quickly.
PVoC: the programme that frames the lane
Kenya operates Pre-Export Verification of Conformity (PVoC) under the Kenya Bureau of Standards. The principle is simple: regulated goods are assessed before shipment, and each consignment travels with a Certificate of Conformity (CoC) issued for that specific shipment. Used vehicles, mobile equipment and used spare parts are handled under a dedicated KEBS inspection contract, so the inspection route for used engines is not the same as for general new goods — your clearing agent will name the appointed inspection company for your consignment.
A consignment that arrives without its certificate is not simply refused: it goes to destination inspection, at a published fee of five percent of the approved customs value — plus the delay. That is the expensive way to learn the programme exists.
Who does what
The inspection and the CoC are arranged around the exporter's side before shipment; the import declaration, duty and VAT are the importer's side, handled by your clearing agent under the engine headings — 8407 for petrol, 8408 for diesel. Rates and levies change with Kenya's finance legislation, so confirm the current figures with your agent rather than with a web page — this one included.
What is prepared at origin is the part that certificates get checked against: commercial invoice, a packing list with engine models and quantities referenced to the order photo file, certificate of origin and bill of lading, declared plainly as used engines. When an inspection happens at origin, it happens at the Guangzhou warehouse we work from, where the engines are and where the logistics company that coordinates the container and export documents has its office.
Mombasa and inland
Mombasa is the discharge port, and the same containers serve the inland trade toward Nairobi and beyond — some buyers clear in Kenya and truck onward. If your final market is Uganda via Mombasa, say so at quotation: the transit regime changes the paperwork, and it is cheaper to declare that intention before the container is booked.
Sources
- KEBS — PVoC
- ENGICOR prices and terms: our own published list, recorded monthly in the used engine price index.
Price a container yourself
Build the mix you want in the online quoter — 90 engines in a 20-ft or 130 in a 40-ft, or 45 + 45 / 65 + 65 with gearboxes — and the FOB total reaches your inbox the same minute, at our published per-unit prices, every engine Grade A. Prefer to ask? Tell us the destination country and the models you need and we reply within one business day, usually within hours.
New customer? Your first order can start with 10, 20, 30 or 40 engines, with gearboxes and consolidated shipping available — first purchase only, at list price, with no first-order surcharge. See the first-order offer →
Frequently asked
Does Kenya's used-vehicle age limit apply to engines?
The eight-year rule applies to imported vehicles. Engines imported as parts are a different declaration under their own HS headings — which is one reason the engine trade exists at the scale it does. Your clearing agent confirms the current treatment for your consignment.
Who arranges the PVoC inspection?
It is arranged before shipment on the exporter's side, through the inspection company appointed for used goods on the Kenya programme. Tell us what your agent requires and we coordinate the origin side at the Guangzhou warehouse.
What happens if the container ships without a CoC?
It faces destination inspection at a fee of five percent of the approved customs value, plus the storage and delay while it waits. Arranging the certificate before sailing is dramatically cheaper.
Which engines should a first Kenyan container carry?
For most buyers: the bulk in 1NZ-FE and 2NZ-FE, a tranche of 2ZR-FE, and only then higher-value units. Everything ENGICOR supplies is Grade A — cleaned, given a manual crankshaft rotation check and photographed from every side, with a photo file for your order.