NISSAN IN RUSSIA
A portfolio of three brands, expansion of major production facilities, a far reaching strategic partnership and a raft of planned new models, show Nissan is committed to Russia
- Russia is Nissan's number one market in Europe
- Sales up 75 per cent in 2011, claiming 5.5 per cent market share
- 10 per cent market share targeted in the next four years
- Further expansion confirmed for St Petersburg plant
- One of the few world markets to sell Nissan, Infiniti and Datsun brands by 2014
MOSCOW (29 August, 2012)-The innovation and excitement that's infused into every Nissan product clearly appeals to new car buyers in Russia. With almost 140,000 sales in the last calendar year sales were up by a massive 75 per cent over 2010.
The company leads Russia's growing crossover segment with 55,500 Muranos, Qashqai and Juke models sold last year... especially impressive as sales of Juke only began at the end of March 2011.
Little wonder, then, that Russia is Nissan's most important market in Europe and, indeed, is its fifth largest globally.
And the figures are only going to get larger. Industry observers forecast that Russia will overtake Germany as Europe's largest car market with a total industry volume close to 4 million units in 2015.
To satisfy the demands of this growing market, Nissan has ambitious plans that will see its market share rise to more than 10 per cent from the current 5.6 per cent for both Nissan and Infiniti. At the same time local production will increase to the point where up to eight in every ten cars from Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. sold in Russia will be built in Russia.
Ultimately, Nissan is looking to triple sales in Russia in the next three to four years based on an industrial strategy that places localisation at its very heart - a win-win for both Nissan and Russia as capacity increases, investment continues, suppliers develop, jobs are created and manufacturing expertise is shared.
A number of factors will help to achieve this growth, including:
- Arrival of Nissan Almera, a model specifically built in Russia, for Russia.
- Further new models joining the Nissan range
- Introduction of the Datsun brand
- Expansion of Infiniti range, with arrival of new luxury crossover
- In all, ten new or refreshed models across all three brands are planned in the coming years
- Production of Qashqai to start in St Petersburg
- Doubling of St Petersburg capacity to 100k units annually by 2014
- Greater localisation of parts supply to reduce and boost local economy
- Expansion of R&D function already established in Russia to develop products specifically suited for the market
"Russia is the fastest growing economy in Europe and it is expected to stay that way in the years ahead thanks to the surge in upper and middle class consumers in the region. These car buyers have increasingly sophisticated tastes and demands. They are looking for quality products with the latest technical advances but at an affordable price. The new Almera will fully meet these customer needs," said Francois Goupil de Bouille, Nissan Managing Director in Russia.
"At the same time, there's an equally strong market looking for value-driven motoring. For these buyers, the re-emergence of the Datsun brand is perfectly timed. We will launch two new Datsun models in Russia in 2014, focused entirely on these customers," he added.
It is anticipated that, once established, Datsun models will account for one in three Nissan models sold in Russia. Central to the brand's arrival in the territory - one of only a few regions globally where all three brands will be sold in 2014 - is the strategic long-term partnership between the Renault-Nissan Alliance and AvtoVAZ and the resulting investment in a new production line at the 250,000 square metre Togliatti plant.
Representing an overall investment of €400 million, the new line was inaugurated in April 2012 by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin,
When running at full capacity, the new line will add capacity for an extra 350,000 vehicles annually across three brands and it will conform to world-class quality levels. The new line will raise the plant's total capacity to 945,000 a year. As well as making complete vehicles, the facility also builds engines, transmissions and chassis sub assemblies.
The next all-new Nissan model to be launched in Russia will be Almera. Designed and built to suit the specific requirements of the Russian market, the Almera is further proof of Nissan's belief in the importance of the region.
"As well as providing innovation and excitement every vehicle wearing the Nissan badge is built to perform in line with customer expectations. That means no compromise on its ability, its practicality or its quality," said Francois Goupil de Bouille.
"By ensuring that Almera is built to cope with the special conditions found here, we are demonstrating our commitment not just to the Russian customer but to the country as a whole by supporting jobs both at the factory and within the supplier chain.
The Alliance/AvtoVAZ partnership began in 2008 when Renault purchased a 25 per cent stake in AvtoVAZ and started the transfer of technology and know-how to the Russian company's manufacturing facilities and local supply chain. The pending Joint Venture between the Alliance and Russian Technologies is due to increase its stake in AvtoVAZ to 74.5% by 2014, with Nissan investing $450 Mn.
Nissan's other major production facility in Russia, the factory in St Petersburg, is also expanding. Currently building Teana, X-TRAIL and Murano - all highly acclaimed for their quality - the plant almost fully met its production capacity of 50,000 units in 2011 following the introduction of three-shift working.
And capacity will double in 2014, to 100,000 units annually following a further €167 Mn investment, by which time Qashqai will have been added to the production lines.
As well as providing further proof of Nissan's commitment to Russia and giving customers even greater choice, Nissan's decision to continue developing its local footprint will directly benefit the wider economy in terms of job creation at the growing plant, and throughout its expanding supplier base.
Nissan Executive Vice President, Andy Palmer said: "Russia is Nissan's largest European market and is going to grow significantly in both size and importance over the mid-term, and could account for around a third of our overall European sales by 2016.
We are going to continue placing the customer at the heart of everything we do in Russia by offering innovative, relevant models that, increasingly, are developed and produced within the market."
