We turn away enquiries every week. Someone in Nairobi, Dar es Salaam, Kampala or Johannesburg asks what we can do for them, and the answer is nothing — they should buy from Japan instead.
Here is why, because the reasoning is worth understanding even if you are in a market we do serve.
Chinese cars are built left-hand drive
China drives on the right, so cars built for the Chinese domestic market have the steering wheel on the left. That is not a configuration option; it is how the car was manufactured, and the entire used stock we source from is LHD by definition.
That makes our stock correct for Ghana, Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal and the rest of the LHD half of Africa — and wrong for Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia and Mozambique, all of which drive on the left and require right-hand drive vehicles.
What conversion actually costs
People ask whether we can convert. Technically it can be done. Practically, do not.
A proper RHD conversion runs $3,000-5,000 per car. On a $9,000 vehicle that is half the purchase price again. And the money is the smaller problem:
- The dashboard, steering column, pedal box, wiring harness and often the braking layout all have to be modified. Every one of those is a safety-relevant system.
- Airbag deployment geometry was engineered for the original layout. A converted car’s passive safety is no longer the car the manufacturer tested.
- Resale value collapses. Converted cars are known in every market that has them, and buyers discount them heavily or refuse them outright.
- Some jurisdictions restrict or refuse registration of converted vehicles, and enforcement can change after you have already imported.
You would spend $4,000 to produce a car that is less safe and worth less than the one you started with. There is no version of that trade that works.
Why we are honest about it instead of taking the order
We could sell you a converted car. Some exporters do. The reason we do not is not moral posturing, it is that the deal ends badly and we would rather have the enquiry we turn down come back as a referral than as a dispute.
If you are in an RHD market, buy from Japan. Japanese used export is a mature, well-run industry with enormous RHD stock, established inspection standards and shipping infrastructure into Mombasa and Durban. It is genuinely the right answer for you, and we will say so on the first call rather than the third.
What we do instead
We concentrate on two LHD markets and know them properly: Ghana and Nigeria. Both English-speaking, both right-side driving, both reachable from Chinese ports on predictable schedules. We know the duty regimes, the ports, the documentation and the model demand in each.
Two markets known well beats twelve markets claimed. When you ask us what a 2023 Tiggo 8 Pro lands at in Tema, you get a number and a breakdown, not a promise to find out.
Common questions
Q: Can you convert a Chinese car to right-hand drive for me? A: We will not. It costs $3,000-5,000, compromises safety systems the manufacturer engineered around the original layout, and destroys resale value. If you need RHD, buy Japanese stock.
Q: I am in Kenya. Can you help at all? A: Not with vehicles. Kenya is RHD and our stock is LHD. Japanese exporters are the correct source for your market and we will tell you that rather than sell you something unsuitable.
Q: Which African countries can buy from you? A: The LHD markets. We actively serve Ghana and Nigeria, where we know the duty regimes and port procedures properly. Other West African LHD markets are possible — ask, and we will tell you honestly how much we know about yours.
Q: Do Chinese manufacturers make RHD versions? A: Some do for export markets, but those are new cars sold through official channels. The Chinese domestic used market — which is where our price advantage comes from — is LHD.