Russia’s AvtoVAZ to Produce Nissan Engines

GENEVA – Nissan’s H4 1.6L 4-cyl. gasoline engines are expected to be manufactured at Russia’s AvtoVAZ in Togliatti, part of a plan to localize output of Renault-Nissan Alliance engines in that country.

Renault already announced plans to make its K4 1.4L and 1.6L 4-cyl. gasoline engines at AvtoVAZ for installation in cars based on Renault’s B0 (Logan) platform, and the decision to add the Nissan H4 engine into the mix is expected to be finalized in the next few days.

The Russian-made engines are to be used to power locally built Renault and Nissan cars, as well as vehicles under AvtoVAZ’s own Lada brand.

Renault produces three models based on the B0 platform at its Avtoframos joint-venture plant in Moscow: the Renault Logan sedan, Sandero hatchback and Duster cross/utility vehicle.

AvtoVAZ will launch volume production of its first B0 model, the Lada Largus wagon, later this month, with the new Nissan Almera to be added in November and three other Lada and Renault cars to follow.

“The advantage of the H4 engine is that we can use it for the three brands’ cars that are based on the Logan platform, as well as for the C-segment,” Bruno Ancelin, Renault senior vice president-Eurasia Region and managing director-Russia, tells WardsAuto on the sidelines of the auto show here.

“The H4 engine has a displacement of 1.6L, the same as (the) K4, but the power is much better and it is more modern,” he adds.

Nissan’s H4 engine is used by Renault in a few models, including the Samsung SM3 that Renault Samsung builds in South Korea. The SM3 is the Korean version of the Renault Fluence.

The H4 can be used for several platforms. More than 500,000 of the Nissan engines ultimately could be built in Russia annually, Ancelin says.

“There are still some details about the content of the license to be negotiated, but I would say that there is the intention of the three parties to do it, and we are very close to the agreement,” he says of the plans to localize the H4 in Russia.