Uber Links With Kia to Expand Fivefold in Africa's Biggest City
- Kia, Access Bank agree to reduce down payments on new vehicles
- Smartphone usage, unreliable maps remain Africa challenges
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Uber Technologies Inc. is negotiating cheaper deals for new vehicles with Kia Motors Corp. to boost its number of drivers fivefold in the Nigerian city of Lagos, Africa’s biggest, to 3,000 by the end of next year.
The U.S. car-booking company has signed agreements with the South Korean carmaker and Lagos-based Access Bank Plc to reduce the down payment required for new vehicles to 95,000 naira ($477) from almost 200,000 naira, with the balance payable over four years, Alon Lits, Uber’s general manager for sub-Saharan Africa, said in an interview in Lagos on Aug. 28.