Stanbic, Autochek inks deal to provide vehicle financing for businesses

This comes at a time car prices have surged by between 10 and 15 percent citing a drop in supply from source countries

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Local businesses seeking to boost their field operations can now benefit from affordable vehicle financing options courtesy of a new partnership between Stanbic Bank Uganda and Autochek, a Pan-African auto-dealership company.

The offer which also extends to individual buyers enables customers of Stanbic Bank Uganda to acquire new or used vehicles of their choice, for personal or commercial use, through Autochek’s digital platform with over 50, 000 verified and high-quality vehicles.

With an inbuilt auto-loan system, the Autochek platform enables a customer to search for a vehicle of their choice and proceed to apply for financing at competitive market rates in partnership with Stanbic Bank Uganda.

Through the partnership, Stanbic Bank customers are to enjoy Autochek’s 360-degree solution that offers car search and acquisition financing, after-sales service as well as an opportunity to sell their Auto assets.

Powered by a data analytics engine that makes it easier for financial institutions to offer credit to consumers, Autochek is building the financial infrastructure to drive the penetration of auto financing across Africa, by offering an online marketplace for buying and selling vehicles, as well as insurance, warranties and aftersales, making it a one-stop-shop for all automotive needs.

Autochek Uganda’s Country Manager, Jacob Muddu said “At Autochek, we believe financing is critical to catalysing the automotive industry in Uganda. With this partnership, we will empower consumers in Uganda to get more quality options for car ownership while growing the automotive ecosystem in the country.”

Stanbic Bank Uganda’s Head of Vehicle Asset Finance Ronald Ssonko said, “from our interactions with small and medium-sized business customers, we have learned that vehicles are not luxury but a vital part of their growing operational needs.

Especially as we see a rise in e-commerce where customers increasingly prefer home deliveries, for many of our commercial and business customers, they need vehicles to not just deliver products to customers but also drive sales or commute from one location to another hence the need for reliable, dependable vehicles.

However, most of them struggle to find the right supplier and money to purchase a vehicle with cash. Our new partnership with Autochek answers all these needs.”

This comes at a time car prices have surged by between 10 and 15 percent citing a drop in supply from source countries such as Japan, logistical challenges, taxes, and volatility in fuel prices.

The increase comes on the back of Covid-19 disruptions that have affected supply chains, among them ships and an escalation in commodity and fuel prices occasioned by the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

“Fewer ships are coming to Africa and this means fewer units being cleared. Before Covid-19 at least 10 ships would dock at Mombasa every month, but this has since reduced to three,” Charles Kamunvi, the Associated Car Dealers chairman told Daily Monitor recently noting that because of the Covid-19 related disruptions, the price of shipping a unit from the source market has gone up to $1,500 (Shs5.7m) up from $700 (Shs2.6m) depending on the size.

As a result, cars such as Toyota Fielder, which used to cost Shs27million before Covid-19, are now selling at between Shs30millio and Shs32million. Toyota Premio which used to sell at Shs 28million has seen the price surge to as high as Shs36million.

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