TheCable

GAC Motor, a Fortune 500 vehicle maker, has entered a partnership with four banks and an insurance company to introduce a ‘Drive Now, Pay Later’ scheme for Nigerians.

The partnering companies are Wema Bank, Access Bank, Ecobank Transnational Plc, Globus Bank, and Sunu Assurance.

The automaker said the scheme will give Nigerians the opportunity to own cars with ease by accessing an auto facility with these institutions.

“The partnership with the select financial institutions was designed to enable customers to acquire new vehicles in a financially convenient manner,” Diana Chen, chairman of CIG Motors, the authorised distributor of GAC Motor in Africa said.

“With the easy buy agreement, Nigerians would not need to cough out the entire cost of a vehicle at once. There are several benefits to owning a car and we’re very thankful to these financial institutions for making Nigerians privy to these benefits with GAC cars.

“In other countries such as the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Germany, and other parts of the world, young adults own their personal cars which enable them to meet their personal mobility and economic needs with ease. This is however not the same in Nigeria, spurring the GAC brand to design cars specifically for the upwardly mobile young adults in Nigeria.

“This comes as a timely intervention following recent data by the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS) that revealed that to one private vehicle, there are 41 Nigerians dependent on it, which is one of the lowest among other emerging markets.”

Anthony Eke, a senior manager at Access Bank, said the bank agreed to be a part of the scheme to allow its customers to buy new cars in a financially convenient manner.

Other industry captains who attended the partnership signing include Elias Igbinakenzua, managing director of Globus Bank Plc; Samuel Ogbodu, managing director of Sunu Assurance; Dotun Efebogun, Wema Bank divisional head for retail banking; and Korede Demola-Adeniyi, Ecobank head for consumer banking.