The quest for the Federal Government to position the country among automobile manufacturers in Africa has begun to yield positive results, following the emergence of Nord Automobiles Limited.
With a mission to roll out a model of cars for Nigerians, assembled by Nigerians, the current Nord assembly plant is located on a 2,100 square metres of land space in Sangotedo, Lagos, while it has also acquired 3,400 square metres of land at Epe.
Work is currently under construction for the assembly complex in readiness for the growing automotive market and increasing customer demand.
Chairman and Chief Executive of Nord Automobiles Limited, Oluwatobi Ajayi, said the aims and objectives of setting up the assembly include solving Nigeria’s vehicular and mobility needs for both the low and middle-income earners, including corporate organisations by making it normal for hardworking Nigerians to buy and use brand new vehicles.
Ajayi stated that the models that will be rolling out of the new assembly plant will include the Nord Tank Pick-up, Max Pick-up, Flit bus, Aso truck, Lasgi big bus, A3 sedan, A5 SUV, Yarn family/business shuttle, Tripper bus, Bolt bus, Ben SUV, Urban sedan among many others that are in the pipeline.
The mission of the company, he disclosed, is to “grow together efficiently” with the economy and people of Nigeria.
The Nord CEO, who spoke to Vanguard Motoring, following news making the rounds of the emergence of Nord assembly plant on social media recently, described Nord as a brand that takes the needs of Nigerian environment into consideration during the assembly of the vehicles.
Ajayi who was listed among Forbes 30 most promising young entrepreneurs in Africa in 2018 as well as 10 most influential entrepreneurs under 40 in Nigeria by the Business Insider Magazine, pointed out that he nurtured the dream to give Nigerians the best of automobiles in 2016, while he was the Managing Director of Jetvan Automobiles Limited.
He assured that all the vehicles being offered are durable, elegant and competitively priced, adding that the vehicles have low total cost of ownership compared to the competition.
“That is why we are confident that the Nord vehicles would soon be household names in Nigeria,” he said.
Ajayi said the company’s operations focuses on delivering quality expertise in the value chain of the entire auto assemblage which includes the design, sourcing, development, assembling, distribution, marketing, provision of sales and after-sales service of their unique Nigerian branded automobiles.
In terms of foreign partnerships, Nord Company is collaborating with some of the biggest automotive firms in Europe and Asia, which offers the company an edge in its pursuit to deliver durable, safe, reliable and affordable vehicles for Nigerians and give buyers of the brand good value for money.
He noted that the journey to the realisation of setting up the Nord automobile assembly plant followed several inspection visits, series of discussions and subsequent approvals from the relevant supervising Federal Government’s ministries, departments and agencies.
He said they include the Federal Ministry of Trade and Investment; National Automotive Design and Development Council, NADDC; Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, and the Nigerian Customs Service, NCS.
Incorporated in 2017 as a Nigerian automotive manufacturer/assembler with headquarters in Lagos, Nigeria with http//nordmotion.com as its official website, Nord Automobiles Limited was born out of the need for a remarkable made-in-Nigeria automobile brand, the chief executive said.