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Car Loans : Some Customers Default In Payments – Nord Automobile CEO
Nord Automobile CEO, Ajayi Oluwatobi, says some customers default in payments due to the country’s poor identity system.
He made this known on Space with Kalu Aja, where he spoke about the challenges being faced by local car assemblers like Nord.
He also revealed that it now cheaper to import new cars than to assembly one here due to FG’s decision to reduce the tariff.
The founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Nord Automobile, Ajayi Oluwatobi, has revealed that the effect of dollar exchange rate in 2016 inspired the move to set up vehicle assembly plant in Nigeria in 2017.
The Mercedes-Benz trained auto boss made this known on Monday September 24th on Space with Kalu Aja, where he spoke about the challenges being faced by local car assemblers like Nord Automobile.
Speaking on the financing options to help Nigerians own a new cars, Ajayi revealed that some customers defaulted in payments due to the country’s poor identity system – noting that some of them change jobs and addresses.
Oluwatobi said there is no reason why people have to pay for their cars in full as “cars are usually the second most expensive thing an average person will buy in their lifetime after a house.”
“So, it makes sense to actually spread payment for cars. Nigerians should not buy cars at once. They should spread it out for as much as five to six years.
“However, we have some problems. I tried to ignore it. Two years ago, on my own, we started a financing program, because we tried to get some banks to supported but the interest rate was too high.”
During the live audio conversations on X (formerly Twitter), Ajayi also revealed that it now cheaper to import brand new cars into Nigerian than to assembly one due to the Federal Government’s decision to reduce the tariff, which discouraged manufacturing.
Ajayi also said his manufacturing plant at Epe and University of Lagos (UNILAG) has a combined production capacity of 9,000+ vehicles per year, though notes that the company could only sell just 200 vehicles a year.
