Innocent Chukwuma, chairman of Innoson Group of Companies, has signed an auto finance deal with Sterling Bank Plc to finance the purchase of locally made vehicles produced by the company. According to the partnership agreement signed between the bank and Innoson Motors Limited in Nnewi recently, Sterling Bank will provide auto finance to prospective customers willing to acquire any brand of Innoson Motor vehicles.
Abubakar Suleiman, executive director, Finance and Strategy, Sterling Bank, said that the partnership was informed by the current economic headwinds and exchange rate volatility fuelled by the fall in crude oil prices. This, he pointed out had brought to the fore, the need to diversify the nation’s revenue base and support the manufacturing sector through the patronage and use of locally made products and services. “The country’s dependence on oil exports for foreign exchange and the global oil sector downturn driven by the falling oil price has led to near economic recession in the country and has negatively impacted other sectors with prices of imported products rising significantly. For the country to navigate the current headwinds, there is an urgent need to diversify the economy and empower the manufacturing sector of the country. But local manufacturers will not thrive if they are not patronised by Nigerians. This is why we have entered this partnership with Innoson,” he explained.
According to Suleiman, individuals will be able to access high quality brand new cars at affordable prices. He said the Innoson Brand now enjoys more patronage from Nigerians and that the bank decided to drive its support for locally manufactured products thereby boosting the value of the Naira while fulfilling its one-customer proposition.
Chukwuma described the partnership as “a welcome development and indicated that the company was committed to producing premium quality automobiles as it serves the Nigerian market.”
Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing Company is the premiere private vehicle manufacturing company in Nigeria. The indigenous company, headquartered in Nnewi, Anambra state, was commissioned in 2014 and has since gone on to produce varieties of vehicles from Trucks, SUVs to mini-buses.