Mozambique’s automotive industry remains heavily dependent on foreign imports, with the country importing the equivalent of one million dollars per day in vehicles during the first nine months of 2025. This trend comes amid continued growth in the national vehicle fleet, driven primarily by the influx of light vehicles, which clearly dominate the market.
According to updated data from the Bank of Mozambique, between January and September 2025, $259.5 million was spent on vehicle imports. In the third quarter alone, the country spent $89.7 million, demonstrating that demand remained high and relatively stable throughout the year.
This volume of imports highlights the lack of domestic automobile production, forcing Mozambique to rely entirely on the foreign market to meet its mobility needs. As a result, the growth in the number of vehicles in circulation directly mirrors the pace of imports.
Developments in recent years confirm this trend of heavy dependence. In 2022, imports reached $369.3 million, rose to $421 million in 2023, and stood at $386.8 million in 2024, revealing a consistent pattern of high spending in this sector.
At the same time, the national vehicle fleet grew by 4.2% in 2024, surpassing the 1.3 million mark. This increase was driven largely by the rise in the number of passenger cars, which continue to account for the largest share of the market.
Despite this expansion, the geographic distribution of vehicles remains uneven across the country. Nearly half of the vehicle fleet is concentrated in the city of Maputo, highlighting significant disparities in access to and use of transportation between the country’s different regions.
According to the National Institute of Statistics, Mozambique had 1.2 million vehicles in 2023, a figure that rose to 1.3 million in 2024. Of this total, 564,500 are in the city of Maputo and 496,700 in Maputo Province, reinforcing the concentration in the south.
The data also indicates that the fleet of light vehicles reached 897,300 units, having grown by 12% between 2021 and 2024. During the same period, there were also 267,800 heavy vehicles, 16,158 tractors, and 100,700 motorcycles on the road, demonstrating the diversity of the national vehicle fleet.
Source: Lusa
