Nigeria, South Africa’s WesBank Sign MOU On Made-In-Nigeria Vehicles

The National Automotive Council (NAC),  has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), with WesBank of South Africa, to finance retail and corporate acquisition of made-in-Nigeria vehicles, a statement by the Director General of NAC, Aminu Jalal, has said.
The MOU with  WesBank,  a subsidiary of FirstRand Bank Limited, was signed in Johannesburg, South Africa on October 16.


Jalal said that the aim of the MOU was to stimulate Nigerians interest in theacquisition of locally assembled vehicles.
He said the agreement would allow WesBank collaborate with NAC in the development of financing locally assembled vehicles and making them affordable for the average Nigerian.
Also speaking, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of WesBank, Mr Chris de Kock, commended Nigeria for the opportunity to invest in the emerging Nigerian automotive industry.
“We are delighted that the Nigerian government and NAC have chosen WesBank as their partner of choice.
“Nigeria is the largest economy in Africa and this is an excellent opportunity to grow our footprint on the continent, in line with the FirstRand strategy,” said de Kock.
According to him, the WesBank currently operates in other African markets like Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, Mozambique, Swaziland, and Zambia.
He said that operating in Nigeria would offer the bank opportunity to participate in some of the larger African economies where vehicles sales are expected to experience substantial growth over time.
“We believe that we have the required experience and expertise to operate successfully in developing countries given our own experience in South Africa over the last 50 years.
“Our ability is to find innovative solutions and to develop country-specific products and processes we think will be well-received by the Nigerian automotive market and its buyers.
“It is also our hope that in due time, this venture can become the biggest market for WesBank in Sub-Saharan Africa outside of South Africa,” said de Kock.
NAN recalls that the Nigerian government recently approved the National Automotive Industry Development Plan (NAIDP) to attract investments from vehicle manufacturers globally and grow the supply of locally-manufactured vehicles.
WesBank is South Africa’s market leader in vehicle and asset finance through successful partnerships with leading manufacturers, offering finance to consumers for both locally-manufactured and imported models.
It would be recalled that the NAC DG recently announced that the Council was packaging a vehicle financing scheme aimed at making Nigerian assembled vehicles affordable.
The finance scheme is developed with a convenient payment terms spread over a period of about 4 years at a very low interest rate.
It is also intended to assist vehicle assembly plants in Nigeria to gain high volume within a very short time and to facilitate local components development.
(NAN)