B2B cross-border automotive trading platform Trade X has opened a Kenyan trading corridor.
This addition, which includes a shared bonded warehouse in Mombasa and an office in Nairobi, enables the company to serve automotive dealers in key East African countries, Trade X said in a Thursday (Dec. 1) press release.
“Because the inspection process in Kenya is so rigorous, Kenyans prefer to purchase foreign pre-owned vehicles rather than buy locally,” Trade X Senior Vice President of Global Business Development Eric Gosselin said in the release. “We are excited to set up our East African base in Kenya as we move closer to adding right-hand-drive vehicles to our platform.”
Kenya has the highest gross domestic product (GDP) in East Africa and provides access to landlocked countries like South Sudan and Uganda. Trade X began shipping vehicles to the country in May, according to the press release.
Trade X helps auto dealers, car rental companies, fleet owners and mobility solution providers source and distribute vehicles from other countries. The company’s software provides support with trade financing, compliance, customs requirements, international payments processing and vehicle inspections.
With its new Kenyan trading corridor, the company will tap into supply already coming out of Japan, as well as opening new trade routes from the United Kingdom, Australia, Thailand, South Africa, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), per the release.
Participating in the Trade X exchange gives automotive dealers and other buyers in the countries served by the exchange the ability to figure out where the car should come from based on a holistic view of the economics, not just geography or traditional relationships, Trade X Founder and CEO Ryan Davidson told PYMNTS in an interview posted in September.
“So, giving them access to vehicles from Mexico, Canada, U.S.A., Europe, the Middle East, China and South Korea gives them a lot of options based on price specification and transit time,” Davidson said at the time.
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