Eurokars Group – Growing a regional distribution network

Do banks go above and beyond? UOB's longstanding relationship with Eurokars Group seems to suggest so.

One of the largest car distributorships in Singapore, Eurokars Group also enjoys regional presence in markets such as Australia, China, and Indonesia. The company’s expansion efforts were, of course, not without its fair share of challenges.

In 2017, PT Eurokars Motor Indonesia (EMI), a subsidiary of Eurokars Group, became the exclusive distributor for Japanese carmaker, Mazda, in Indonesia. With this appointment, time was of the essence for EMI to kick-start its operations, with an immediate need to gain a temporary credit line for bulk purchases of Mazda vehicles.

UOB, having helped Eurokars Group break into the Indonesian market some 20 years ago with Porsche, swiftly stepped in with viable financing solutions – leveraging the Bank’s deep understanding of the automobile and dealership industry.

That knowledge enabled UOB to further design a dealership financing programme for EMI’s network of Indonesian dealers. This eased the capital requirements needed for the dealers to buy more Mazda vehicles from EMI, resulting in a higher sales volume.

As the global car industry moves towards electric vehicle adoption, UOB looks forward to further supporting Eurokars Group in its vision of having a fully-electric fleet.

With comprehensive solutions tailored to clients’ needs, UOB’s “One Bank” approach connects businesses to growth opportunities in the region, and beyond.

About this series

Building Asia is a collection of business stories on CNA that examines the financial forces driving Asia’s position as an economic powerhouse.

Eurokars Group – Growing a regional distribution network was first aired on 31 October 2022 under the Building Asia with UOB series. It looks at how UOB enabled Eurokars Group to thrive in the ASEAN market with the Bank’s automobile experience and innovative financing solutions.

Transcript

Eric Lian (Group Head of Commercial Banking, UOB):
Hi, Ong Lay Ling. Good to see you again. How are things with Eurokars these days?

Ong Lay Ling (Group Managing Director, Eurokars Group):
Things are going very well, Eric Lian, thank you so much. In fact, in Indonesia we have just been appointed dealer for Mini.

Eric Lian:
Well, that’s great.

Ong Lay Ling:
Thank you, Eric Lian, for your support.

I recall about 20 years ago when we first entered the Indonesian market, UOB was the first bank to come and provide banking support for us even though at the time we didn't have any track record.

Eric Lian:
We have been banking with Eurokars for more than 30 years. And at the same time, UOB has a deep knowledge of the auto car industry, and with that, we were able to come up with a solution that we not only provide financing to Eurokars Indonesia, we have also extended the financing to your dealers as part of a dealer financing programme.

Ong Lay Ling:
For us as a distributor to be successful, we need a strong dealer network as well.

With a dealer financing structure in place, we were able to ramp up our business very quickly, even six months ahead of what we had anticipated.

Eric Lian:
We have started with Eurokars Indonesia some 20 years ago with Porsche.

We've been working very closely with you. And now that you have secured the Mazda dealership some five years ago, this dealership financing programme has resulted in both increased sale for Eurokars as well as for the dealers.

So to us, this is a win-win solution for both Eurokars and the Bank.

Ong Lay Ling:
This dealership financing programme was an innovative and a very comprehensive solution. And that allowed us to relaunch our Mazda brand in Indonesia successfully.

UOB has been very proactive. When Eurokars was appointed the second official dealer for BMW in Singapore, UOB responded very swiftly by coming out with a customised solution, and that really strengthened our relationship even further.

Eric Lian:
You know, our team actually worked day and night to make sure that we come up with a financing solution.

So as you expand into new markets, we will be delighted to work with you.

Ong Lay Ling:
We appreciate that mutual trust and we also have a lot of shared values when it comes to supporting the community. And we certainly look forward to continue to work with UOB to grow our business in Singapore and the region.

Eric Lian:
Sustainability now is a very big focus for UOB. So I'm sure going forward, with Eurokars going on the sustainability journey, we will have a great partnership with you.

Ong Lay Ling:
As the market moves towards EV adoption, we envisage a very bright future ahead of us, as we move together forward towards full electrification of our vehicle population.