BUUMBA CHIMBULUA writes
@SunZambian
JOINT initiative to finance purchase of Ford motor vehicles in Kwacha at attractive interest rates has been introduced in Zambia.
This follows an agreement between Ford Motor Company and Standard Bank, the parent company of Stanbic Bank Zambia.
Interest rates as low as zero percent per annum will be offered under the Ford Finance facility, with a range of vehicles available under the scheme.
The offering of Ford Finance in Kwacha has been driven by the need to provide affordable financing solutions to alleviate the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and foreign exchange fluctuations, says Vehicle Centre Zambia Sales Team Leader, Peter Phiri.
Vehicle Centre is the official Ford Vehicle dealer in Zambia.
Mr Phiri said exchange rate fluctuations coupled with the impact of Covid-19 had far-reaching effects on the customers’ incomes.Traditionally, he said, vehicle financing in Zambia had been offered in United States Dollars, which had posed some challenges in pricing to clients.
“The introduction of Ford Finance in Kwacha is aimed at providing some relief to our customers. Ford Finance will offer unimaginable, low interest rates that would allow more people the affordability to get into a brand new Ford vehicle.
“Ford Finance is not a one-size-fits-all solution but takes into account the needs of the customer by offering an affordable financing solution that benefits the customer’s cash flow cycle,” Mr Phiri said.
This is a tailor-made package with an extended warranty service plan built into the finance package that would provide affordable and stable pricing for vehicles without the risk of currency revaluations.
Stanbic Bank Head of Vehicle and Asset Finance, Horis Mainza, said the initiative had been reinvented and customers now had the benefit of enjoying attractive interest rates from as low as zero rated per annum.
Mr Mainza said as a listening bank, they were re-imagined and responded to the customer concerns on the dollar pricing that was unstable due to exchange rate fluctuations.”
At Stanbic Bank, we say that Zambia is our home and we drive our growth. As the leading Vehicle and Asset Financing Bank in Zambia, our collaboration with Vehicle Centre Zambia has created Ford Finance, poised to deliver some of the best financing terms heard of in this market,” he said.
“It is therefore, our position that the government should revise the fees in the interest of all Zambian cross border traders and transporters,” they said.
