Piggyvest, Mikano Motors tackle upfront cost of car ownership with new savings plan

Piggyvest, Africa’s pioneer online savings and investment platform, has partnered with Mikano Motors, to use structured savings to tackle the high upfront cost of buying a new car in Nigeria, allowing customers save towards their preferred vehicles.

The partnership, announced at a press conference at Mikano Motors’ head office in Victoria Island, Lagos, recently, allows Piggyvest users to select their preferred car in the app and choose a savings plan between three months and a year.

Users can decide how often they want to save, and once they reach their goal, Mikano Motors is automatically notified and begins processing delivery to the address provided on sign-up.

The idea for the partnership came from a behavioural trend Piggyvest was already seeing on its platform.

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“Some of our customers already use different Piggyvest wallets to save for cars. Quite a number of people save, and sometimes don’t eventually buy the car,” said Joshua Chibueze, co-founder and chief narketing officer of Piggyvest.

Chibueze said the opportunity was to make it easier for people who can afford to pay for a car over time, but may not have the money to pay upfront.

“A lot of people in Nigeria today cannot afford to own a car outright. They don’t have the money upfront, but they want that car, and can actually afford to pay for it small-small,” he said, noting that in Nigeria, the gap between wanting a car and being able to afford the upfront cost is significant.

According to the Piggyvest Savings 2025 report, nearly 3 in 5 Nigerians earn N100,000 monthly or nothing at all. Similarly, only one in 10 Nigerian households own a car, and a decade-old car averages about N15 million.

For Mikano Motors, the partnership builds on its focus on making new vehicles more accessible to Nigerian buyers.

“One of our key slogans here at Mikano is affordable luxury. So you don’t have to limit yourself to buying used cars or cars without after-sales service just because that’s the only thing you can afford,” said Syam Abdulkadir, national operations manager at Mikano Motors.

Mbonu Chijioke, head of sales at Mikano Motors, said the company was pleased to be part of an initiative that could make vehicle ownership more attainable for more Nigerians.

Vehicles currently available through the plan start in the N20 million range and include passenger and commercial models, from sedans and executive SUVs to pickups and light-duty trucks.

Mikano Motors noted that the company is also working to bring options into the N10 million range.

“Every vehicle comes with a six-year or 200,000km warranty, supported by after-sales workshops and dealers nationwide, as well as mobile servicing and rescue vehicles,” the company stated.

Abdulkadir said the plan also accounts for changing vehicle prices, noting that if a vehicle’s price increases while a customer is saving, their savings target will be adjusted, and the customer will be informed in advance.

“Mikano Motors will also offer grace periods where possible to help customers manage price changes.

“We’ll do our absolute best to try to mitigate it, offer grace periods, just so that before there’s any change, the customer will be well informed,” he said.

The companies also announced a N2 million cashback offer for Nigerians who are able to successfully save towards and take delivery of their vehicles within the next one year.

This cashback is designed to give buyers a head start on their next financial goal rather than having them start from zero after purchasing a car.

“Once they’ve saved up and they’ve received their brand-new vehicle, we don’t want them to start again from zero,” Abdulkadir said.

Ayo Akinola, CEO of PocketApp, said the partnership reflects Piggyvest’s broader mission of making large financial goals feel more attainable for Nigerians.

“What I’ve learned over the years is that there is something powerful about watching yourself get closer to a goal. So, this partnership is bigger than just cars, it’s about making financial goals feel more achievable,” Akinola added.

Juliet Onyema is a transport journalist who reports on Nigeria’s transport and automobile industry. She covers emerging Electric Vehicles (EVs), ranging from adoption to usage, automobile firms and transport policies which affect them, and also recurring trends affecting commuters’ mobility interstate and intrastate.