Nissan Motor Co. said May 21 it will invest 167 million euros ($214 million) at its plant in St. Petersburg, Russia, to double annual production capacity by 2014 from the current 50,000 units.
With a goal of grabbing a 10-percent share in the Russian market, the company also announced plans to raise its local production rate in the country to 80 percent and triple sales by 2016.
Nissan’s sales in Russia grew 57 percent year on year in fiscal 2011 to 161,000 vehicles, or a market share of 5.9 percent.
The automaker said the investment at the St. Petersburg plant will be used to upgrade equipment for presses, resin and other purposes.
The company has been producing the Teana midsized car, the X-Trail SUV and the Murano SUV in Russia. After the revamp, the St. Petersburg plant will be able to handle five models on the same production line, including the next model of the Qashqai SUV, which will be sold in the country.
The Nissan-Renault alliance earlier this month announced plans to acquire Russia’s largest automaker, Avtovaz.
Nissan said May 21 that it will start to produce models of the revived Datsun brand dedicated to emerging economies at an Avtovaz plant in the central Russian city of Togliatti.
Mass production of Nissan's Almera sedan has already started at the Togliatti factory.
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