Company News
Mercedes claims luxury pole position over BMW
German carmaker Mercedes-Benz on Monday said it had overtaken homegrown rival BMW to deliver the most luxury vehicles of any manufacturer in 2016.
The Stuttgart-based firm sold almost 2.1 million vehicles worldwide, marking growth of 11.3 percent compared with 2015, parent company Daimler said in a statement. It was the first time Mercedes sold more than two million vehicles in a year, allowing it to reclaim the top spot it lost to its Munich rival in 2005.
“Extraordinary growth, especially in China and Europe, has placed us at the top in the luxury segment,” Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche said. Mercedes had achieved its best year ever by sales for the sixth time in a row, he added.
China was a powerful growth market, with Mercedes boosting sales there by 26.6 percent over the year. “Mercedes used to be very weak in China, it was a market where they made a lot of mistakes, but since then they’ve made up ground,” Stefan Bratzel, director of Germany’s CAM automobile institute, told AFP.
While the firm also saw double-digit sales growth in Europe, adding 12.4 percent, US business shrank slightly, by 0.8 percent.
SUVs were the biggest draw for buyers in 2016, topping 700,000 sales with growth of 34.3 percent as the firm introduced new models. Compact cars were also among the top sellers, adding 9.3 percent to hit almost 637,000 units.
“Mercedes has benefited from a very new range of models,” said auto expert Bratzel, adding to its SUVs as well as updating its designs with “significant improvements”. Daimler also reported best-ever sales for its Smart compact car, which added 21 percent compared with 2015 to hit 144,500 vehicles sold worldwide.
In its own figures released Monday, BMW said it sold just over 2.0 million vehicles under its flagship brand in 2016, also a new record. The Munich-based firm notched up growth of 5.2 percent over 2015’s result, but couldn’t hold Mercedes off the top of the sales podium. BMW’s growth fell short of Mercedes in China and Europe and it shrank faster in the US, at 9.7 percent for its BMW and Mini cars combined.
“We will not at all costs strive for volume leadership” in the race with Mercedes, BMW board member Ian Robertson told AFP at the Detroit Auto Show – noting that when comparing the groups’ overall figures, BMW had outsold Daimler.
Instead, BMW would aim for a return on sales of 8 to 10 percent, he went on, as well as unit sales growth in “lower single digits” in 2017. Like Mercedes, BMW also pointed to “a global trend towards SUVs”, with models from its X range accounting for one in three vehicles sold under the premium brand in 2016.
Meanwhile, Volkswagen’s luxury brand Audi reported on Monday that it had sold almost 1.9 million vehicles in 2016, up 3.8 percent on the previous year. The Ingolstadt-based firm suffered “strong headwinds from many important markets,” board member Dietmar Voggenreiter said.
Some Audi cars were among those affected by the Volkswagen group’s ‘dieselgate’ scandal, which saw the auto giant admit to building devices designed to cheat regulatory emissions tests into 11 million vehicles worldwide.
Audi is “undoubtedly the weakest of the three manufacturers, even if it managed to hold onto its position in China” CAM expert Bratzel said.
The manufacturer added slightly to sales in China in 2016 at 3.6 percent, while growing 4.0 percent in the US and 7.6 in western Europe. But Audi only achieved double-digit growth in its smaller western European markets like Italy and Spain.
Source: AFP
COVA Insurtech, a player in the InsurTech sector, has announced its formal dissociation from the activities of COVA WealthTech, effective immediately. This decision comes in the wake of COVA WealthTech’s announced cessation of operations on February 10, 2024.
These two (2) brands have historically been separate entities with distinct focuses within the tech landscape. While both companies share the COVA brand, they operated independently, each catering to specific market segments and addressing unique financial service needs.
The decision to shut down COVA WealthTech was taken in alignment with the evolving dynamics of the tech industry, and after a thorough strategic review by the leadership of COVA WealthTech. COVA Insutech was not involved in or influenced by the decision to cease operations of COVA WealthTech.
COVA Insutech wishes to reassure its clients, partners, and stakeholders that its operations remain unaffected by the closure of COVA WealthTech. The company remains committed to providing innovative and reliable InsurTech solutions, maintaining the high standards of service that its clients have come to expect.
“We want to make it clear that COVA Insutech is a separate entity from COVA WealthTech, and our commitment to our clients and partners remains steadfast. We will continue to focus on delivering cutting-edge insurtech solutions and expanding our presence in the InsurTech sector”. says Bayo Adesanya, Founder & CEO, COVA Insurtech.
aYo Holdings Ivan Welch and Miles Bloemstein
African insurtech aYo Holdings has made two key C-suite appointments as it looks to accelerate its ambitious growth plans across the continent and into the South African market. The company has named Ivan Welch as its new Chief Customer Acquisition Officer and Miles Bloemstein as its Chief Operating Officer as part of its vision of becoming the largest insurance technology platform in Africa.
Welch, who has already been with aYo for four years, will be responsible for driving new customer acquisition through various distribution channels, with a specific focus on digital marketing and sales. His position will also include a commercial legal remit and administrative oversight, and support of the company’s subsidiary operations.
A 20-year veteran of the African insurance sector, Welch defines success as a world where every customer with a mobile phone has an aYo subscription, which would have been obtained through a simple few clicks or button presses on a mobile device. While approximately 46% of Africa’s population has access to and uses cell phone services, insurance penetration remains below 5% in most markets, except South Africa.
“The industry has so much scope for development, as it is massively underserved in Africa. With aYo and our shareholders, MTN and Sanlam, I believe we have the right offering, platforms and ability to scale to serve this market,” he said.
Bloemstein joined aYo in July 2021. He also has more than 20 years’ experience in the insurance industry, specifically in IT operations and related functions. His new position will include him overseeing the day-to-day operations of the business, working closely with executive and product teams to grow the platform and its system and channel capabilities.
“We must constantly find ways to keep our clients engaged and be able to have access to insurance. Due to low disposable income levels, insurance adoption and trust in insurers, we are being challenged to produce ‘out of the box’ solutions to keep our clients engaged and active,” he said.
aYo Group CEO Marius Botha said Welch and Bloemstein’s expertise are key to the company’s drive to enable the distribution of affordable financial services products to people who have never had the opportunity to engage in financial services before. aYo launched in January 2017 in Uganda and has since expanded its operations across Ghana, Zambia, Côte d’Ivoire and Cameroon, with plans to launch operations in Nigeria and South Africa imminent.
Fearless energy drink from the stable of Rite Foods Limited has made full preparation to support this year’s Fanfaro Autofest event as the headline sponsor. This is in its bid to make the platform bigger and more thrilling for car drifters, super bikers, and fun seekers in the ancient city of Ibadan from Friday, 2nd to Sunday, 4th December 2022.
The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Fanfaro Oil Nigeria, Mr. Adekunle Olanrewaju, stated that the support from the Fearless energy drink is enormous hence the event is credited to it and dubbed “Fanfaro Autofest, Fearless Edition,” as the contestants will be rejuvenated with the brand’s positive energy and courageous spirit to actively showcase their talent in car drifting.
“It takes a lot for someone to align with your dream; it takes like minds to be part of it. The previous events have been successful, but now having the marketing leading; Fearless brand behind it, is a success even before the start of the event. The brand also resonates with what the sport stands for, we are fearless, tough, energetic, and want to make it more exhilarating,” Olanrewaju explained.
He pointed out that with the Fearless brand behind the largest motorsport in the country, Nigerians should expect more exciting and action-packed sporting activities, as the product has been with Fanfaro from the planning stage to the exercise which takes a year to put together, and also for a refreshing moment with the trailblazer in the energy drink segment.
According to him, a Fearless brand raffle draw will be organised before the main event in November, where participants would be told to make a creative design with five empty bottles of the product, with the winners going home with exciting gifts.
Commenting on the sponsorship, Rite Foods Head of Marketing, Olumide Aruleba, affirmed that the Fearless brand is very proud to throw its weight behind the sport, as it will bring into it the positive energy associated with the brand as a means to create the desired impact and make it a ground-breaking event. “We also want everyone to look forward to it,” he stated.
On her part, the Assistant Brand Manager of Fearless Energy Drink, Kanyisola Sangowawa, said the support from the product signpost is its connection with consumers in keeping them refreshed by providing the vigour needed while attaining their dreams or showcasing useful talents. She avowed that it takes a fearless spirit to support an action like the auto fest, which requires boldness, daring force, and strength in making it a success.
In his remark, the Fearless Brand Ambassador and the Face of Fanfaro Autofest, the Fearless Edition, Tobi Bakre, actor and a lead cast in the movie, Brotherhood, extolled the partnership between the Fearless energy drink and the motorsport, stating that both connects with a Fearless and reinvigorating force.
