Nissan Launches Infiniti SKD Assembly in Russia

VIENNA – Assembly of Infiniti FX cross/utility vehicles and M sedans is under way at the Nissan Mfg. Rus plant in St. Petersburg, Russia.

While the Nissan Teana, X-Trail and Murano vehicles are assembled from complete-knocked-down kits in St. Petersburg, the Japanese auto maker builds Infiniti vehicles from semi-knocked-down kits at the plant.

Nissan expects to continue Infiniti SKD assembly for the next two years. The reason for the time limit is the Russian government’s new vehicle-production regulations known as New Decree 166. The Renault-Nissan Alliance is among the foreign auto makers that signed the New Decree 166 agreement in first-half 2011.

Under New Decree 166, foreign OEMs can carry out SKD assembly on preferential terms for 36 months following the signing of the agreement. That means Infiniti builds can proceed until mid-2014 under the current terms.

However, the number of cars assembled from SKD kits should not account for more than 5% of total production.

Russia is Infiniti's largest market in Europe. The Nissan luxury brand has sold 4,322 cars in the market this year, up 56.9% from like-2011.