Electric vehicle sales dropped nearly 26%, making up less than 1% of total car sales, held back by high costs and limited charging infrastructure. 

With inflation at 23.71%, and interest rates at 27.5%, the desire to own a new car is sliding further away for many. 

However, local manufacturers are fighting to change this. Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing, Nigeria’s pioneer carmaker, is the second best-selling brand after Toyota, despite a 10.5% sales decline. 

Meanwhile, Nord Motors, a newer company with a focus on tech and urban style, is trying to carve out space to reduce imports and ensure durable, affordable vehicles across the market.

This article pits Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing (IVM) and Nord Motors head-to-head to find out who’s better prepared to put Nigeria’s car industry on the map.

Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing was founded in 2007 by Chief Innocent Chukwuma in Nnewi, Anambra State. In case you don’t know Nnewi well, it’s the town referred to as Nigeria’s manufacturing hub and nicknamed the “Japan of Africa.” 

Innoson carved a niche by building affordable, functional vehicles for a market taken over by imports. It became the first indigenous carmaker in Nigeria, winning government contracts and the loyalty of rural transporters and military clients.

Contrast this with Nord Motors, founded in 2018 by Oluwatobi Ajayi, a Lagos-based entrepreneur with a background in tech and startups. 

Nord’s vision is fixed premium, sleek vehicles for the urban middle class in Nigeria. The brand appeals to professionals, SMEs, and anyone who wants a local car that looks and feels foreign, what you might call the “Tesla meets Naija roads” approach.

Innoson is the village billionaire, rooted, established, and broad in reach. Nord is the tech bro, fresh, goal-driven, and taking advantage of the digital economy. Both are Nigerian brands, but their DNA couldn’t be more different.

Vision and Positioning

Innoson sells practicality and their cars are utilitarian, designed for the rough roads in Nigeria and to serve institutions that need reliable, low-cost vehicles. They focus heavily on governments, the military, and transporters in rural areas, aiming for affordability, ruggedness, and local empowerment.

Nord, meanwhile, targets image-conscious urbanites who want a statement car. The vehicles have modern design, tech features, and a premium price tag, while the company’s marketing channels drip with aspirational energy and speak directly to a younger, more globalised Nigerian consumer.

Let’s not say this is old money versus new money, because there is a fundamental difference in understanding the consumer. Who is more in tune with Nigeria’s diversity?

Products & Market Segments

User experiences reiterate this divide. Innoson owners usually commend the durability and service accessibility, especially outside cities. Nord buyers talk about style and innovation but sometimes flag price and limited service points.

Manufacturing & Local Content

Innoson takes over 70% local content, including plastic parts and tyres, proudly flying the “Made in Nigeria” flag. Nord assembles vehicles locally but relies heavily on imported components, especially for high-tech parts. Both provide jobs, but when it comes to local content, Innoson has a deeper footprint.

What does “Made in Nigeria” mean? It’s a complicated question. True local manufacturing requires a supply chain that can support production beyond assembly. Innoson is closer to that goal, while Nord is still building its ecosystem.

Distribution, Government Support & Partnerships

Innoson’s advantage is strong government ties. Contracts with federal agencies, military supply deals, and support from industrial policies give it a steady order book. Nord, younger and nimbler, has cultivated goodwill with Lagos State and logistics companies but lacks the broad institutional backing Innoson enjoys.

Nigeria’s auto policies are meant to encourage local assembly, and both brands have licences to assemble vehicles. Yet, the real beneficiaries remain an open question. Policy incentives often favour established players, but the market is crying out for more competition and innovation.

Branding & Public Perception

Innoson is known and respected but doesn’t generate much buzz beyond the Eastern region and government circles. Its brand feels solid but traditional.

Nord, in contrast, is loud on social media, with ads and an urban edge. It appeals to younger Nigerians who value style and tech and is a darling of the tech community and influencers.

While Innoson’s Chief Chukwuma embodies steady leadership, Nord’s Ajayi speaks startup language, innovation, and growth.

Challenges

Innoson struggles with after-sales service complaints, limited tech upgrades, and an outdated online presence. Its vehicles can feel dated to a younger generation.

Nord faces production limitations, pricing that may put off mass consumers, and brand awareness that hasn’t reached beyond Lagos and a few urban centres.

Neither is perfect. Innoson and Nord have important work ahead if they want to take over Nigeria’s car market.

Nigeria’s automotive sector is delicate, with vehicle sales projected at 410,000 units in 2025 and 75% used cars, local brands need to fight harder to increase new car uptake. 

The government expects 70% of cars sold by 2050 to be locally assembled, but challenges of inflation, high interest rates and a naira that has lost over 42% of its value this year alone, limit this expectation.

Electric vehicles, the supposed future, are still marginal here. Despite global trends, Nigeria’s EV market is tiny, led by Volkswagen and Kia, with local EV initiatives like Nord still finding their feet.

Beyond which brand will win, we need to think about Nigeria’s entire ecosystem, can it evolve to support them both.

Innoson brings legacy, reach, and a connection to our country’s industrial roots. Nord carries youth, style, and fresh aim to a market hungry for innovation. Both brands face enormous challenges, but they are Nigeria’s best bets to reduce dependence on imports.

I believe this is not about choosing one over the other, but pushing for policies and investments that let both thrive.

After all, in Nigeria’s drive for automotive self-reliance, both the tech bro and the village billionaire must be in the driver’s seat.

The company also said that rather than soft-pedaling on this vision, it has in the past few years upscaled its production technology, in addition to embarking on a plant expansion and establishment of a new production facility in Nsukka, and Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) conversion factory in Owerri.

A statement by Mr. Cornel Osigwe, the head of Communications, Innoson Vehicles said that since its plant commenced vehicle manufacturing more than 13 years ago, it had gone beyond the initial mini buses and pick-ups, to add different models of sedans, Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs), family vehicles, fire trucks, as well as city and inter-city buses of various sizes.

Osigwe, explained that the company was busy manufacturing these vehicles based on the demands from the government and the private sector.

He added that the company also felt the pulse of users of its vehicles as well as the market generally, stressing that the feedback it obtained helped it to enhance the quality of its products.

He maintained that this also helped it to determine what the market needed.

He added: “About two years ago, we made history by becoming the first, and so far the only, manufacturer of CNG/ Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG)-powered vehicles in Nigeria, for which we have earned many recognitions, including awards from The Sun Publishing, Silverbird and the Nigeria Auto Journalists Association (NAJA), all in 2023.

“Moreover, the presentation of Quality Management Certificate and the MANCAP Certificate by the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) to Innoson in 2023 is a confirmation of our adherence to high international quality standards in the manufacture of our range of vehicles.

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“So, with all these production activities and sustained investments, Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing Co, Nnewi, cannot be described as an assembly plant in ruins.”

Osigwe, maintained that it was in pursuit of its avowed vision that the auto company upgraded its factory operations from manual production to semi-automation, and then to standard automation, resulting in the production capacity increasing from 10,000 vehicles to 60,000 vehicles per annum.

In line with the foresight of its Chairman, Dr. Innocent Chukwuma, Innoson Vehicles he emphasised had embarked on an ambitious multi-billion naira plant expansion project at Umuezena part of Umudim, Nnewi, which when completed in the next couple of months, would be dedicated to the manufacture of a wide range of CNG/LNG-powered vehicles and heavy duty trucks.

Innoson is also investing in the University of Nigeria Nsukka {UNN} where it is partnering with the institution to establish a plant that will be manufacturing units of 20HP Agricultural Tractor with the brand name Lion IVM, he said.

“Apart from the Umuezena and UNN projects, Innoson Vehicles is currently setting up an IVM CNG conversion centre at Naze, Owerri, Imo State. The state-of-the-art facility is for the conversion and retrofitting of fuel/ diesel powered vehicles to CNG/LNG powered vehicles,” he added.

The press statement also gave insight into partnership with the Military, saying Innoson Vehicles had been collaborating with the Nigerian Air Force for the development and promotion of joint activities to sustain the maintenance of the Nigerian Air Force Air Asset and other associated Aerospace Ground Equipment (AGE).

He stated that the company was equally in partnership with the Nigerian Army for the modification of some of its equipment, local production of armoured fighting and utility vehicles.

Nnewi auto plant has in the past few years exported IVM vehicles to some African countries, including Sierra Leone, Niger, Congo, Ghana, Mali, Côte d’Ivoire and Burkina Faso.

This has culminated in the company concluding plans with the government of Sizrra to establish an assembly plant in Freetown.

“Innoson Vehicles is on a mission to be a giant vehicle manufacturing company in Africa in other to serve Africa vehicle needs by its current expansion efforts

“The range of products from the stable of IVM are affordable and within the reach of the Nigerian investing public who are in the transportation business, corporate organisations, government and its agencies at various levels, as well as individuals who desire the products, satisfactory service and exciting driving experience,” Osigwe added.

The company, however, agreed that there had been challenges in the industry which, according to Chukwuma would be addressed by the Federal Government through the new automotive policy.

“The Innoson Group founder has since applauded the recent efforts by the Minister of Industry Trade and Investments Minister, Dr. Doris Nkiruka Uzoka-Anite, and the Director General of the National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC), Mr. Joseph Osanipin, towards effective implementation of the new Automotive Policy (NAIDP 2023).