By Nigerian on-demand auto repair and maintenance platform Mecho Autotech is set to introduce new products, as it seeks to garner a significant share of the country’s multi-billion dollar automotive aftersales and maintenance market.
The start-up, which runs a digital platform that connects business-to-business and business-to-customers with in-house and third-party mechanics, announced yesterday it will soon be launching a new version of its vehicle management app.
It is also set to launch a marketplace for aftermarket spare parts.
Mecho Autotech says Nigeria’s automotive aftersales and maintenance market is valued at an estimated $8 billion, with spare parts representing $6 billion of that total. With its new product offering, it is seeking to build a reliable vehicle spare parts supply chain in the country.
In a statement, Mecho Autotech said, in the third quarter of this year, it will launch a second version of its vehicle management app that connects vehicle owners to qualified and vetted mechanics.
The start-up will also launch Mecho Mart, a marketplace for aftermarket spare parts and original OEM spare parts for wholesalers and enterprise fleet owners.
Olusegun Owoade, CEO and co-founder, Mecho Autotech, said: “When we launched in the market two years ago, we focused on providing high quality vehicle maintenance services.
“But, over time, we learned that we had to prioritise fixing the broken automotive spare parts supply chain — a more urgent problem in the industry and a bigger driver of its value.”
“Since we pivoted our business, we have serviced more than 50 corporate fleet owners and spare parts wholesalers and provided spare parts from five global automotive manufacturers. By improving the availability of high quality spare parts, we believe that we can play a role in improving Nigerians’ vehicle longevity and road safety.”
The company said among the app’s new features, customers can access financing to pay for vehicle repairs and maintenance to preserve their cash flow.
According to the company, after undergoing a verification process, eligible customers can now receive overdrafts of up to 10 million naira, which will be deposited in the Mecho app wallet.
It said: “Customers also have more flexible servicing options: they can drop off their vehicles at any of Mecho’s 100 partner workshops in Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt, or arrange for pick-up.
“In the new improved 2.0 Mecho app, customers can track all their expenses, maintenance requests, and vehicle history.
“Corporate fleet owners can manage multiple mechanics, including Mecho and other third party service providers, to streamline the maintenance and repairs process in one app.
“Mecho will also roll out an IoT integration allowing corporate fleet owners to track their vehicles. The 2.0 vehicle management app will be free to use.”
With the marketplace, the company said customers will be able to buy genuine auto parts like tires, shock absorbers, brake pads, lubricants and filters.
“Using the marketplace, spare parts wholesalers can stock up on inventory with top-quality parts, secure financing, and increase profit by avoiding stock outs,” said Mecho.
