September 22, 2025
‘We are building a company that gives Nigerians world-class vehicles at globally competitive prices.’
Ajayi Joshua Oluwatobi achieved such success at Mercedes-Benz Vans that he won the 2013 Mercedes-Benz Best Sales Performance for Africa award.
But, according to Business Insider Africa, three years after winning that award and witnessing Nigeria go into a recession, the former CEO of Jetvan had to switch gears when he realized that things were not looking well in the market.
As customer couldn’t afford foreign vehicles, Oluwatobi had to learn what he could do to allow customers to purchase cars.
“We were selling luxury vehicles. Suddenly, no one could afford them,” he told the media outlet. “Customers who once bought new buses were now stuck repairing old ones. At one point, I feared losing everything. I knew I had to find an alternative.”
That alternative became Nord. His thought process was to build vehicles in Africa since foreign cars were becoming too expensive for Nigerians. If he were able to do so and make them affordable, it would stand a chance of being successful.
After sketching prototypes and engaging a German firm to refine the designs, he traveled to Thailand and China to source a supplier for the vehicles that would match what he was seeking in a car. Two years later, in 2018, the first Nord vehicle rolled off the assembly line.
“We are building a company that gives Nigerians world-class vehicles at globally competitive prices,” he said. “A car that retails for about $16,000 in Japan or the U.S. often sells for $45,000 in Nigeria. Nigerians deserve better.”
Nord has recently announced that Nigerians can now buy its entry-level, brand-new EV for ₦16 million (about $11,000).
Oluwatobi mentions that between 32% and 40% of the parts for its vehicles are already produced in Nigeria. The company can assemble about 20,000 cars a year, but with sufficient demand, that number could scale up to 100,000 units. Nord has two plants in Lagos: a 2,100m² (0.518921 acres) facility in Sangotedo, where all eight models are assembled, and a 5,400m² (1.3343691 acres) factory being built in Epe.
“We want to be the company Africans can look to and say, ‘Because of Nord, my dream of owning a brand-new car has been achieved,’” Oluwatobi said.
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