Nissan to Produce New Almera in Russia

The upscale, affordable sedan will wear the famous ‘Almera' badge and will mark Nissan's entry into the increasingly important mainstream market following its sales launch early next year.

Almera was developed by Nissan engineering teams in Japan, the UK and Russia, and will be one of the most spacious sedans within the Russian mainstream segment offering distinctive Nissan styling and engineering at outstanding value.

Russia is already Nissan's largest European market and in Calendar Year 2011, sales increased year-on-year by 75% to more than 138,000 units. This performance established Nissan as Russia's largest Japanese manufacturer with a 5.2% share of the overall market and around 7.5% share amongst overseas brands.

Almera represents part of a comprehensive industrial strategy for Nissan in Russia and underlines the company's long-term commitment to the market. Last year the Nissan factory in St Petersburg produced more than 43,000 business class Nissan Teana and Nissan Murano models, alongside X-Trail - one of the best-selling medium-sized SUVs in the country.

Almera will be manufactured in Togliatti on an all-new production line following training of staff by Nissan engineers. New Paint and Body Shop facilities will also be opened at the plant ahead of Almera's production launch in November.

François Goupil De Bouille, Nissan Managing Director for Russia, commented: "As part of the Nissan Power 88 mid-term plan, we want to significantly increase our share of the overall Russian car market by 2016. Models like Almera will be crucial to our success."

"Nissan already offers one of the broadest model line-ups of any foreign manufacturer in Russia, but to date we have not been strongly represented in the fastest growing mainstream market.

"Almera will change that and bring something new to the segment by offering outstanding value, unique Japanese design, interior space not previously available in this market sector and world-class quality.

"The fact this is a car developed specifically for Russia, and manufactured locally in Togliatti, ensures it will fully meet the expectations and desires of our customers."

The Nissan Almera sedan will be unveiled at a global premiere at this year's Moscow International Autosalon on August 29th.