“Africa” is not one customs form. Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, Uganda, Zimbabwe and neighbours each set steering, age, and inspection their own way. A Premio that clears Mombasa can fail Kampala on years. Read the certificate, not a Facebook group: Japanese export certificate, then the import guide for your country.
What still repeats on the water to East and Southern Africa: RHD, parts you can get in Nairobi or Dar, and bodies people already know how to fix. That is Hilux, Prado, Hiace, Premio/Allion, Fielder, Probox/Succeed — not a 660 cc kei you cannot tax locally.
KMC JAPAN helps customers in Sasebo and across Kyushu find Japanese used cars, including affordable kei cars, compact cars, SUVs, minivans and hybrids. For Africa we still source those classes when the destination allows them; the volume bid is usually regular-plate workhorses. English auction desk in Ogori, Fukuoka.
Tell us country and budget View inventory
Check the country before the badge
- Age — manufacture year vs first registration; both are on the export certificate. Uganda’s used cap is a hard example; Kenya and Tanzania are not copies of each other
- RHD — normal for the markets we quote most; LHD is a special case
- 修復歴 — some buyers will take a disclosed RA Hilux; hiding R is how you lose the next client: R / RA
- Diesel vs petrol — pickups and Hiace diesel still dominate many routes; petrol Premio/Fielder are taxi and family stock
Proxy bid only on the export contract: auction proxy. Scam lots: don’t get scammed.
Workhorses (what actually resells)
Toyota Hilux
The default Africa pickup from Japan. Check rust, deck, and whether 4WD is real: 4WD used cars. High bid, high demand.
Toyota Land Cruiser Prado / 70-series where legal
Highway and rough road. Heavy 重量税 if you were keeping it in Japan — you are not. Confirm age on the certificate before you fall in love with a cheap Prado.
Toyota Hiace (and similar Nissan vans)
Matatu / staff / church van pattern. Sliding doors, mileage honesty, and engine notes on the sheet: sheet symbols.
Toyota Probox / Succeed, Nissan AD
Cheap running taxi and shop cars. Parts everywhere. Not glamorous; they sail.
Saloons and wagons
Toyota Premio / Allion, Corolla Axio / Fielder
The East Africa saloon staple. Watch years vs the gate. Fielder if you need a wagon without a van’s footprint.
Toyota Vitz / Passo, Aqua, Note
Town cars when the market wants small petrol. Aqua hybrid resale depends on the country; do not assume every African buyer wants a hybrid battery story.
Toyota Noah / Voxy, Honda Freed / Fit
Family and shuttle. Measure freight CBM: shipping cost.
SUVs
Toyota RAV4, Harrier, Honda Vezel, Nissan X-Trail
Tarmac plus a bit of dirt. Harrier looks expensive in Japan and still sells in some cities. Same age-certificate rule.
Usually the wrong Africa bid
- Kei (N-BOX, Tanto) unless the buyer named that country and tax class on purpose
- European badges with Japan-only parts
- *** / flood / meter stories you cannot read
- LHD “US spec” that will not register as a normal RHD import
Money and papers
Quote FOB or CNF/CIF on the named ports: FOB vs CIF vs CNF. Planning calculator: calculator. Hammer is not FOB: ¥300,000 auction.
English desk: English-speaking dealer. Country cards: Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia and others on import-guides.
Tell us discharge country, petrol/diesel, pickup vs saloon vs van, max year on the certificate. We shortlist Ogori stock and Japanese auctions. Not a customs ruling and not one “best car for Africa” trophy.
