By Mike Abba
Nigeria’s Tier 1 lender, Access Bank has entered into a partnership with Guangzhou Automobile Group (GAC Motors) to enable more Nigerians to have access to finance for affordable vehicles.
The deal which allows customers of Access Bank access finance to purchase the latest brands of GAC at discounted price with a reduced interest rate, is aimed at empowering Nigerians through ownership of their own vehicles.
At a ceremony in Lagos to sign the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) yesterday, the Chairman of GAC Motors, Diana Chan, noted that the partnership deal was to empower more Nigerians who lack the wherewithal, to own their own vehicles.
According to Chan, “We have two strong brands, GAC, one of the best car makers in China, and Access Bank which is passionate about customers coming together to give Nigerians the chance to buy new cars with high durability at low cost.”
Access Bank on its part pledged its commitment towards the success of the deal.
An executive director of the Bank, Victor Etuokwu, noted that the bank allows its customers to buy the cars with a 10 per cent equity contribution, thereby making vehicle ownership affordable for them.
According to Etuokwu, the the interest rate had been brought down to 24 per cent to make the deal not only seamless but affordable for interested customers.
He noted that the astronomical rise in price of cars has made many banks to stay away from vehicle financing.
“But at Access Bank, we are passionate about our customers and the Nigerian economy and that is why we are in this partnership”, he said.
Access Bank said that the offers coming with the vehicle financing scheme include free comprehensive insurance in the vehicles purchased for the first one year, and that the scheme covers purchase on the GA3 S, GS4 and GS8 models of the GAC motors.
