Nissan Releases First Picture of Russia-Built Almera

VIENNA – Nissan reveals the first picture of its new Almera sedan to be manufactured by the Lada maker AvtoVAZ in Togliatti, Russia.

Production of the affordable sedan, which will wear the well-known Almera badge, launches in November. It marks the Japanese auto maker’s entry into an increasingly important segment in Russia.

“Nissan already offers one of the broadest model lineups of any foreign manufacturer in Russia, but to date we have not been strongly represented in the fastest-growing mainstream market,” Francois Goupil de Bouille, Nissan managing director-Russia, says in a prepared statement.

“The fact that 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 new Almera was developed by Nissan engineers in Japan, the U.K. and Russia. It will be built at the AvtoVAZ plant, Russia’s largest, on an all-new production line following staff training by Nissan engineers. New paint and body shop facilities will be opened at the plant ahead of the production launch.

The car will be unveiled in August at the Moscow auto show.

It will be the first Nissan model manufactured by AvtoVAZ as a part of the Renault-Nissan Alliance. However, the Japanese auto maker operates its own Nissan Mfg. Rus plant in St. Petersburg.

Last year the St. Petersburg plant's 1,600-strong workforce assembled more than 43,000 X-Trail small SUVs, Teana sedans and Murano CUVs from complete-knocked-down kits for sale in Russia.

Nissan currently offers a sedan badged as the Almera Classic in the Russian market. The car is a rebadged Samsung SM3 imported from Renault Samsung of South Korea.

Nissan's largest single European market is Russia and it is the top-selling Japanese brand there. Deliveries totaled 138,827 last year, up 74.4% from 2010. The auto maker’s market share reached 5.2% and it ranks sixth in sales in Russia.