Following the ongoing conversation of buying the Naira to save the Naira, the CEO of NORD Motors, Oluwatobi Ajayi, joined Channels Television to share insights on how embracing made-in-Nigeria cars will help boost the Nigerian economy.
Joining the live discussion, the CEO of NORD Motors started by talking about the demand for Nigerian cars not just as a sign of patriotism but also from the perspective of the value people will get from buying these cars.
Using NORD Motors as an instance, Oluwatobi noted that the quality of vehicles in Nigeria is as good as any other vehicle in the world, as NORD has a vehicle with 5-star, which means the vehicle is one of the safest vehicles in the world. He goes further stating: “From a quality perspective, we have a lot of customers and they can attest to the fact that the quality is really good. I think what we need to solve is how Nigerians can understand and make it normal to drive vehicles made in their own country because I think that people who have purchased our vehicles know they are good enough so I don’t think that’s a really big problem.”
Talking about the demands on Nigerian-made vehicles, NORD CEO said: “The same manufacturers of the chips, engines, transmissions of your most trusted brands in Japan are the same places we get our vehicle parts from. Our technicians here are very skilled. So in terms of quality, it’s clear. But the demand side is not as good as one of the biggest problems. I think the entire Nigerian auto industry has a capacity of about 200,000 units per year but we have a demand of just 19,000. Nigerians buy 500,000 vehicles a year. In my factory in Lagos and Epe, one factory can do about 10,000 shifts. But, we rarely need to produce and sell more than 100-150 units per year, which is like less than 2% of the capacity.”
On the issue of how local car manufacturers in Nigeria can step up and help steer the attention of Nigerians towards purchasing made-in-Nigerian cars, Oluwatobi Ajayi stated that Nigerian car manufacturers are already doing their bits by making quality things, and ensuring vehicles are durable and safe. But what the company needs now is for the market to respond. Using America, China, and Europe as an instance, he equally noted that the Nigerian government has a part to play in initiating interest in these vehicles.
He states: “A country is usually the business environment and industry’s biggest supporters, investors, and customers in their early stages. A lot of these big companies in America are a result of the government pumping money into these companies, winning government contracts worth billions of US dollars. These revenues and demands allowed them to grow and become what we see today.”
On the matter of the popularity of used cars in Nigeria, their increased demand, and the decline in the purchasing power of many Nigerians due to the Naira devaluation, Oluwatobi noted that made-in-Nigeria cars can help reduce the rate at which Nigerians buy used vehicles of any kind because there’s a huge advantage in buying new cars. He notes that the price of an average 5-year used vehicle in Nigeria is the same price of brand-new NORD vehicles. He notes that it will be challenging for car manufacturers in Nigeria to sell new cars at the same price as 20-year-old used cars. However, NORD vehicles offer the same quality as brand-new foreign vehicles, and while most Nigerians cannot afford to purchase even 5-year used vehicles, we have to build our economy to the point where there are good jobs so that people can afford to buy cars in Nigeria.
He explains this saying: “When you buy cars abroad, what you are doing is creating job opportunities over there. But, when you buy cars in Nigeria, you create even more job opportunities for Nigerians. The more you buy things made in Nigeria, the more you create a middle class that will be able to buy cars that are decent and affordable.”
Sharing the price range of the cheapest cars NORD Motors offers, Oluwatobi Ajayi noted that the brand has brand new vehicles that are sold from N12 million upwards. Speaking on how Nigerian automakers can manage the intense competition they face with used cars, he notes that it’s not as a result of Nigerian-made cars being more expensive, but rather because many Nigerians are unable to afford decent livelihood. If many Nigerians can afford decent living, many will prefer rather purchase brand-new Nigerian cars instead of their 17-year-old counterparts.
During the conversation, Oluwatobi Ajayi, CEO of NORD Motors consistently stressed the role the Nigerian government has to play in enabling the growth of automobile industries in the country as this is an essential part of ensuring not just the growth of the industry but to positively impact the Nigerian economy.
