Russia - The new Nissan X-Trail is now being produced at the company's St. Petersburg plant, joining the Qashqai and Murano. This follows on from a small rise in the brand's sales in the country from 9,049 to 10,134 units between August and September 2018.
"We are very pleased to announce the official start of production of the new Nissan X-Trail at our St. Petersburg plant," commented Igor Boytsov, vice president, Nissan Motor Manufacturing Russia. "The move has seen the installation of sophisticated new equipment and additional training for our staff, guaranteeing the efficient manufacturing of this innovative model while bringing our 'northern capital' plant into the future."
One of the upgrades made at the plant was to install laser sensors on all welding equipment. This was done to improve precision. Software systems were also introduced in order to enhance vehicle noise isolation.
Introduction of X-Trail production at St. Petersburg comes about a year after Nissan said it would add a second shift at the facility due to an upturn in the local market during 2017.
Other companies, such as Volkswagen, have also been witnessing a steady rise in sales across Russia. Back in February 2018, it started making the Skoda Kodiaq at the Gaz Group plant in Nizhny Novgorod.
