DT Dobie, I & M Bank target middle class with luxury vehicles

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Sir Meliodas
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Motor vehicle dealer DT Dobie and commercial lender I&M Bank  have inked a deal for personal loans that is targeting to raise the capacity of the middle class to own the auto firm’s high end vehicles.

I & M Bank said Monday in a statement it will offer up to 90 per cent financing for DT Dobie’s brand new Mercedes passenger vehicles.

The lender did not, however, disclose the terms of the financing agreement.

“I believe that this asset financing agreement with DT Dobie will enable the two organisations to draw strengths from each other in meeting premium customers’ dynamic needs,” said I & M Bank Kenya chief executive Kihara Maina in a statement.

The deal is likely to ramp up DT Dobie’s luxury vehicle sales at a time when rival Simba Corporation has slashed the price of its 25 new BMW cars by millions of shillings as it hands over the franchise to British firm Inchcape Plc.

Private companies and wealthy individuals are major buyers of new high-end cars, with the industry increasingly weaning itself off government orders after the State reduced purchases to tame its transport bill. But the rising middle class and greater awareness of global brands has seen the luxury market in Kenya grow.

DT Dobie is the authorised dealer in Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz passenger and other commercial vehicles.

It is also the authorised dealer for Hyundai light trucks.

“By partnering with a strong financial partner like I & M Bank, we strive to make it easier for our customers to access asset financing to acquire high quality vehicles that are safe and reliable,” DT Dobie managing director Ian Middleton said.

“We are confident that by partnering with I & M Bank we will be able to have access to wider customer base.

Recent relatively higher sales growth in the overall new vehicle market has been attributed to realisation of orders that were suspended last year amid uncertainty brought by the General Election.

DT Dobie unit sales rose 7.69 per cent in July to 56 units from 52 in June.

The Postal Corporation of Kenya revealed in June that it had given local motor vehicle firms DT Dobie and Isuzu East Africa a big boost with a Sh52.2 million order.

Industry data in the quarter ended March showed that sales of new luxury cars in Kenya rose nearly five per cent to 65 units. However, DT Dobie’s sales of Jeep and Mercedes models had dropped to 18 from 22 the year before.

SOURCE: businessdailyafrica.com

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