Capital Equipment News December 2017

FINANCING

VFS South Africa will offer a range of services, including Instalment Sales Agreements, Finance Leases and Operating Leases.

pertise to ensure our South African cus- tomers’ unique business requirements are addressed through a tailored, competitive financing solution,” adds Rafkin. Product offering According to Winkelmann, VFS South Africa will offer a range of services, including Instalment Sales Agreements, Finance Leases and Operating Leases. These will be initially available for Volvo Trucks, UD Trucks and Volvo Bus customers only. VFS, already 100% staffed and licensed at the time of the official launch, will be fully integrated with the Volvo Group sister business areas in South Africa. “We will continue our alliance with WesBank, a division of First Rand Bank Ltd, with financial products that complement each other to further strengthen the company’s offering of Operating Lease Agreements, Instalment Sales Agreements and Finance Leases to customers,” says Winkelmann. The Volvo Group-WesBank partnership has been in existence for the past seven years and Winkelmann says the partners will build on that to further offer operating leases. He adds that the alliance has been beneficial to all partners and the VFS launch in the local market is an opportunity to further improve their service offering to customers. Although VFS will only initially be

long-term relationships really matter to its operating philosophy. He also adds that transport and infra- structure industry financing is all what VFS does, without any dilution of focus. “Our people are experts in the industry, and because we are part of the Volvo Group, we know Volvo Group products better than anyone else,” says Winkelmann. The same view is shared by Rafkin, who says VFS strives to be the most relevant partner for the Volvo Group dealers and customers because it understands the financing of capital equipment businesses, while at the same time, it has the necessary internal knowledge of the product than any other external financing institution. “We have the structure and competitive edge, based on the fact that we will be faster and easy to deal with, while at the same time we boast the understanding of the Volvo Group business.” However, Rafkin reiterates that the launch of VFS in South Africa should not be viewed as an opportunistic entry to capitalise on the traditional financing houses’ reluctance to finance truck buyers. “We view this as a complementary service to our customers,” adds Rafkin. Christensson is of the view that a down cycle offers the perfect timing for VFS to enter the market, as both Volvo Trucks and UD Trucks have been growing their

present in South Africa, Christensson says the long-term aim is to make it available to all the Volvo Group customers across Southern and Eastern Africa, as these markets are said to continue to develop. VFS will finance both new and used trucks and buses. Christensson says the financing product had to include used trucks as this is a big venture for the group at this stage, especially on the back of tough economic times. “We currently have a big inventory of used trucks within our ranks. As a group we are currently selling about 2 000 new units, and trading in about 1 000 in the process,” says Christensson. Competitive edge According to Rafkin, VFS’s dedication is its key competitive edge. “We deliver value to our customers by being easy to do business with, through our speed and industry knowledge, and by working hard to develop a long-term relationship with them throughout the business cycles,” says Rafkin. Winkelmann adds that, unlike some of the conventional funding institutions that shy away from financing capital equipment owners in challenging economic conditions, VFS is determined to remain dedicated to supporting customers’ businesses, both in good and challenging times, because

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