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Toyota has launched its own bank in Ireland, Toyota Financial Services (Ireland) which will help the brand to compete with the likes of Volkswagen and Renault when it comes to offering customers preferential deals on their finance packages.
With 25 new jobs created, and an expected €70 million worth of business due to be bankrolled this year, the new bank was launched by Michael D'Arcy TD, Minister of State for Financial Services at Toyota's west Dublin HQ. The bank will be run by Francois Radot, a former chief executive of Toyota's financial arms in France and China, as well as running Toyota's Nordic region operations.
Speaking at the launch Minister D'Arcy said: "The formation of this company is an historic occasion, as it is the first time Toyota Financial Services, one of the world's largest motor financiers, has formed such a joint venture with a country distributor, in this case Toyota Ireland. The Government's IFS 2020 Strategy, of which I recently launched the 2018 Action Plan, sets out an ambitious target to ensure that Ireland remains a highly-desirable location for international financial services and in doing so creates 10,000 new jobs by 2020. The introduction of TFS(I) is a significant vote of confidence in the Irish economy and a powerful signal to the international financial services industry that the financial services arm of the World's largest motor manufacturer, Toyota Motor Corporation, has entered the Irish market in partnership with Toyota Ireland."
Steve Tormey, Chief Executive, Toyota Ireland said: "We predict TFS(I) will have a significant impact on the Irish motor market and we would expect to write somewhere in the region of 4,000 new and used contracts in the coming 12 months with a total value in excess of €70 Million. The TFS offering, which will be available from Toyota and Lexus Dealerships throughout the country, will be highly competitive, with PCP rates starting at 2.9 per cent and averaging 3.9 per cent. For the first time our team, led by François Radot, will be totally dedicated to Toyota and Lexus vehicles, developing bespoke products for our vehicles. A critical element in this mix will be our ability to provide finance for the rapidly growing Hybrid sector which has seen major growth in the January market with 48 per cent of Toyota's sales (4,393) being hybrid. This is truly remarkable growth and a clear indicator that Hybrid technology is seen by the public as a vital stepping stone in their journey towards electrification at some time in the future."