ST. PETERSBURG, December 9. /TASS/. Japan’s car maker Nissan on Tuesday launched the production of a new-generation X-Trail crossover at its facility in Russia’s second largest city, St. Petersburg.
This is the fourth model to be produced at the plant. The other models are Teana, Murano and Pathfinder.
By late 2014, the plant plans to open the second production line which is expected to double its capacity to 100,000 vehicles a year.
The press service said the automaker seeks to invest a further €167 million ($205.5 million) to add 50,000 square meters of new production facilities.
Four car manufacturing plants in St. Petersburg currently produce 13 models. The GM plant produces Chevrolet Cruze and Opel Astra, and also SKD assembly of Chevrolet Trailblazer and three Cadillac models — ATS, CTS and SRX. The Toyota and Hyundai plants produce Camry, and Hyundai Solaris and Kia Rio, respectively.
Russia has recently seen the recovery of the country’s car market. The slump in the Russian ruble this autumn slowed falls in car sales. In November, for the first time over the past two years, the market slide almost stopped. Experts say foreign car producers plan on spending more on localizing production in Russia, as the weak ruble makes it easier for companies to produce cheaper vehicles and puts manufacturers at an advantage.