Oluwatobi Ajayi (Nord Automobile CEO) Biography, Career, Cars & Net Worth

Oluwatobi Ajayi is one of the notable names in the Nigerian automobile industry. He is regarded as one of the shapeshifters in the industry who, despite the challenges of running a successful automobile business (in a country where citizens prefer the purchase of Tokunbo used cars), he finds ways to continue making remarkable strides in his business.

Oluwatobi Ajayi is none other than the CEO of NORD Automobile, an Automobile company established and running in Nigeria.

In this article, we share some of the exciting facts about this Auto CEO you should know about. 

Oluwatobi Ajayi Biography

Oluwatobi Ajayi is the first child of his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Ajayi, and was born in 1988 and hailed from Abeokuta in Ogun State. He did his Primary and Secondary Education at the Nigerian Navy School. After completing his secondary education, he moved over to Olabisi Onabanjo University, where he studied Soil Science and Farm Mechanization between 2004 and 2010. 

Recently, Oluwatobi completed his Masters of Business Administration, MBA at the Lagos Business School, Pan-Atlantic University, Nigeria.

Currently, Oluwatobi is married to his wife, Dora Ajayi (who hails from Imo State), the couple got married on the 28th of January, 2020, and their marriage is blessed with a daughter, Aderinsola Ajayi.

While much is not known about Oluwatobi Ajayi’s personal life, information gathered notes that Oluwatobi’s father was a car dealer and the sole owner of Squadron Motors, even before Oluwatobi was born. His father’s dealership sold Mercedes and Peugeot brands, and it was here that Oluwatobi drew the many inspirations that led him toward the automobile path.

Oluwatobi Ajayi Career

Oluwatobi Ajayi’s journey into the automobile industry started the moment he completed his first degree in Soil Science and was posted to complete his one-year mandatory NYSC program at Mercedes Benz Nigeria. It was here he started collecting skills and knowledge about the automobile industry.

After NYSC, he was retained as a full staff at Mercedes Benz Nigeria and placed in the Mercedes Benz Van division, where he became responsible for and oversaw the Nigerian branch division. During his time at Mercedes, he recorded hundreds of units of car sales and won the trust of the firm’s staff.

By 2014, Oluwatobi got the opportunity to start up as an authorized Mercedes-Benz dealer, and he got approved to start sales with Jet Van. However, a new idea to expand the shores of his business skills grew out of this, which led him towards starting his own automobile brand in Nigeria.

Leveraging his contacts and against the advice of a few, Oluwatobi set off to start his own brand, and it was this that gave rise to his vehicle assembling company in Nigeria, NORD Automobiles. The word NORD means upward movement, positivity, north, and good feeling. Oluwatobi Ajayi noted that the name was already formed before he knew it was an amazing name.

Speaking about his pivot towards starting his company, he stated: 

“All my life, I’ve always gone for the most impactful even if it is a more difficult area of anything. My friends always tell me that I like to go for the difficult things, which of course yields very good results. I like to make a huge undeniable difference anywhere I am, that’s how I’ve always been, and it even earned me the nickname ‘Super Tobi’.

I was always trying to do what nobody wanted to do, even when I knew it was going to be difficult, I was ready for it. I knew it was going to be difficult (venturing into the Auto industry) and I was prepared to go for it, but I didn’t know it was going to be as difficult as it actually became. It actually became a lot more difficult than I thought, but I was able to go through it, which I believe is because I was prepared. I was ready to dig deep at times. I have to be very honest with you, there were times when I felt like giving up, there were times when I actually really gave up and I was just waiting to move on to the next thing like I wanted to go into farming and the rest, but for one reason or the other I didn’t give up eventually and I’m happy I didn’t.

It has been worth it when I see the results, how much impact we are making, how many people we employed, how many families are happy because we’re existing.”

With collaboration with partners and investors, NORD has been able to produce different designs of vehicles, from buses to trucks, to pickups, that are durable for African roads. Today, NORD  is one of the leading Automobile companies that have come out of Nigeria and out of Africa.

However, the CEO has noted that one of the issues the company has been experiencing recently is the decline in demand. Speaking to a publication, he notes: 

“In a good month, we produce for 10 days maximum, but on average we do four days a month; we lock the place and go because that’s the number of orders we have. So when people say that the capacity in Nigeria is not enough to meet the demand of Nigerians, I’m really wondering. The good thing is if they actually allow us, with our capacity, prices will drop because of the economies of scale, which will allow me to share the cost more evenly and the prices of everything would drop.”

Oluwatobi Ajayi Cars 

Oluwatobi Ajayi, the CEO of NORD Motors, has been spotted only driving with NORD vehicles like the Nord Max, which was manufactured in 2019 and produced 174 horsepower. The price of the vehicle is between N8.7 to N9.1 million in Nigeria. 

Another vehicle the CEO has been spotted with is the Nord Tank manufactured the same year as the Nord Max and produces the same horsepower. However, the price of the pickup truck is between N11.1 to N11.7 million in Nigeria.

Oluwatobi Ajayi Net Worth

According to the last valuation of his business, Oluwatobi Ajayi’s company is said to be worth N4.2 billion. He draws his principles in life and how he runs his business from mentors like Alhaji Aliko Dangote and Tony Elumelu. He notes that Aliko Dangote showed him that anyone could start a new Nigerian brand and become a universal player with hard work and integrity. The CEO also thinks the same way about Mr Tony Elumelu. He stated: 

 “I realized I can do most of the things he does and in the manner he does them. He is strategic and invests his time and resources in networking and being impactful to society. These are some of the things I also do.”

Conclusion

Oluwatobi Ajayi is one of the top pace-setters in the Nigerian automobile industry. During an interview, the CEO noted that in five years, NORD Automobile would become one of the top two-rated automobile companies in Nigeria.