Chinese Cars Make a Mark in Nairobi

Chinese vehicle models are making a strong showing on city streets. Some years back they made their grand entry in the truck market. First there was the Faw truck and Jiefang truck… mainly targeting the seven-ton truck category. They ended up in many city driving schools where they gave the institutions a new lease of life…they ended up getting more student/learner drivers enrolled as people tend to like new vehicles. For once, driving schools started looking trendy. Previously, only old trucks (Toyota) were being used by the driving schools. The Chinese trucks also proved popular with construction firms where they ended up becoming good tippers. Then came the Yuejin truck, a popular truck in the 3ton category. It proved to be a hardy vehicle with a raised chassis but never made it big in terms of sales. Surprisingly, the few Yuejin still on the road (most of them of KAJ reg) have proved to be good trucks and shattered the mythology that Chinese trucks had not come of age. For some years, dealers stopped advertising new models of Chinese trucks and cars.

Now the Chinese models are back and they are offer serious competition to trucks and pickups from Isuzu, Toyota and other Japanese models. Faw is a shiny model of a bus that has pleased the Kenyan armed forces where it is used as a commuter transport van. But Foton too is attracting positive coverage and attention. Many traders and distributors have acquired the new Foton models of pickups and light trucks. They are said to be extremely fuel efficient. They are now being put to use by many companies including hardware dealers who use them to ferry cement.

Only small Chinese saloon cars are missing in the market. But I guess they too will be here soon.

A little company that has followed the sign of the times

I was walking by Kencom bus stage and noticed that the stage is now clean and well maintained. It also has a professional coat of paint. The notice board close to the bus shelters is decent and has some useful information to any visitor here. The company behind the rejuvenation of Kencom bus stage and the signs there is Adpost, a small firm that has made a mark in the small advertising and promotional materials sector.
Adpost may be a small outfit but the hustle and bustle outside their main office close to Odeon cinema shows just how seriously Kenyans take their Adpost notice boards. I like people who pursue their ideas and live to see them blossom. I still do not know the owners of Adpost but I am an admirer of their work. The business has shown that you can always carve a niche for your business. By stitching together their business of stationeries, advertising and promotional materials and carving a niche for themselves, the company seems to have generated new revenue streams.
Now they have made use of what was becoming a sorry mosaic of roughly designed posters. Now what we have is a series of notice boards that will put a smile on your face, billboards that glorify Nairobi and infomercials plus maps that help the city’s visitors find their way around. Through careful and prudent business management, Adpost is going places.

Roads...how bad can they get?

Hey!!! Could someone shed some light on just when some of Nairobi’s roads hardest hit by the heavy rains are actually going to get repaired?
I wrote here some time back that the city’s roads had become a source of pride for all of us. They were smooth and shiny, that is until the rains began. Roads countrywide have been affected. That seems to have changed now. Although the overall state of the roads has improved, the resurgence of huge potholes has seen the hazards of driving in Nairobi increase.
Haile Selassie Avenue has some horrible, crater-like potholes just as you join it close to the former Kenya Bus Station. It is a sight that is bound to shake the confidence of any city motorist. Then there is another pack of potholes just as you get past the Kariakor roundabout on your way to Pangani or Racecourse estate. There seems to be a leaking water pipe there and the potholes seem to be getting bigger by the day. Driving here at night can mean a slow, bone-jarring ride that could see you getting unflattering attention from would be carjackers and criminals. However, the powerful floodlights at the nearby Kariakor market have helped reduce the presence of the night vultures.
The creaking and groaning vehicles in Nairobi sink wheel-deep into potholes scattered in different parts of the city, as the grimacing motorists hope and pray that someone at City Hall will finally remember that every day means more expenses in servicing and maintaining cars.