KONTAN.CO.ID - JAKARTA. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the quality of multi-finance assets has indeed been in the spotlight where the risk of bad loans is quite high. Therefore, to maintain asset quality, lending for premium vehicles reduces this risk in order to maintain asset quality.

In this case, Clipan Finance is one of the multi-finance companies that wants to increase the contribution of the premium vehicle segment this year to 20 percent from last year's 8 percent. Meanwhile, the company categorizes premium vehicles as those with a principal debt value of more than Rp 500 million for new types of cars.

Currently, several premium vehicle brands that have been financed by Clipan Finance are Mercedes Benz, BMW, Lexus, JEEP, Minicooper, and. Audi. Meanwhile, the Mercedes Benz car brand dominates the existing portfolio.

Not without reason, the President Director of Clipan Finance, Harjanto Tjitohardjojo, also revealed that the asset quality of premium vehicle loans is much better than that of ordinary vehicles.

Therefore, the segment portfolio can be used to prevent existing risks. "However, the premium segment is very limited and the margins are thin," said Harjanto to KONTAN, Friday (4/3).

For your information, Clipan Finance applies a lower interest rate for the premium vehicle segment, namely 2.5% for a tenor of 1 year to 3 years with a minimum down payment of 30%. For comparison, for regular vehicles, the interest applied starts from 3% to 5% depending on the tenor and the down payment is below 30%

Meanwhile, with the low-cost DP program strategy, Clipan Finance was able to record a growth in the number of units being financed. In 2020, the company only financed 850 units or 4.9% of the portfolio, while in 2021 it increased to 1901 units or 8% of the total portfolio.

CIMB Niaga Finance (CNAF) also experienced growth in the premium vehicle segment, which only financed vehicles under the BMW and Mercedes Benz brands totaling 1,100 units. This figure increased by more than 40% compared to 2020 which was 750 units.

With this number of units, CNAF President Director Ristiawan Suherman said the realization of the financing was almost Rp 500 billion or around 8% - 10% of the total CNAF credit realization in 2021. 

Agreeing with Clipan Finance, Ristiawan also stated that customers who apply for premium vehicle loans have a high ability to pay and this is reflected in the NPF value. Non-performing loans for the 2 brands above were recorded below 0.3% in 2021. "This reflects that the customer segments of the 2 brands above are very strong because of the economic shocks caused by COVID-19/their ability to pay remains high," said Aris. However, Aris said that it doesn't mean that during a pandemic like this, CNAF is more focused on lending in this segment. This is reflected in the total credit realization growth at CNAF which is above 50% in 2021. However, regarding interest, CNAF applies the same pricing for both premium and regular cars. Meanwhile, the current interest rate at CNAF is starting from 0% for a 12-month tenor to 8.1% for a 72-month tenor. Not to be outdone, Adira Finance has also begun to try to increase credit for the premium car segment, which in 2021 only contributed 10% of Adira Finance's sales in the new car segment. Several brands that are Adira Finance's focus in this segment include Toyota, Honda, Mitsubishi, Mercedes Benz, BMW, Lexus, Mini Cooper, and Hyundai. Director of Portfolio Adira Finance Harry Latif also sees that the potential is still quite large given the sales of premium cars that continue to grow. He also hopes that sales of premium cars this year will increase in line with the target of an increase in the company's overall new financing of 25% yoy. "In line with the collaboration with Danamon and MUFG in achieving penetration of the automotive market in the upper middle segment, Adira Finance will focus on obtaining financing in the premium car segment and targeting double digit growth," he said.