Japan's Nissan confirms its permanent residency in Russia’s ‘Detroit’ with the production of its first car in the country
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia — Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, St. Petersburg Gov. Valentina Matvienko and top management executives of the Japanese auto giant Nissan were among the VIP guests and other dignitaries that graced the official ceremony dedicated to the release of Nissan Teana, the first car to be manufactured by the Russian subsidiary of the Japanese auto company in the suburb of St. Petersburg, more frequently referred to nowadays as the Russian ‘Detroit’ on the Neva River.
This apt label — a reference to the U.S. city of Detroit in the state of Michigan, which is often referred to as the capital city of the U.S., and until recently, global automobile industries, for serving as headquarters for some of the topmost global autobrand makers, was attached to St. Petersburg a couple of years ago following the decisions of three of the world’s largest auto manufacturers — the U.S.-based General Motors Co., and Japanese Toyota Motor Corp. and Nissan Motor Co. — to set up affiliate auto plants on permanent basis in the city.
Speaking at the official opening ceremony of the Nissan’s factory, Putin noted the speed and efficiency exhibited by the investors during the execution of the multimillion-dollar project. “The agreement on this project was signed between the Russian government and Nissan Motor Co. two years in summer of 2006 at the sidelines of the Petersburg International Economic Forum,” he said. “And, within exactly a year and one month, in July 2007, the ground-breaking and stone-laying ceremony was held at the site of the new auto plant. And now, exactly two years later, we are here again, not simply to open the factory for production, but to witness and celebrate the release of the first car manufactured at the plant.”
Putin put the total sum of investments into plant at over $200mln, noting that the factory built to the world quality standards on auto production, has an initial capacity of 50,000 cars per year, and offers over 750 new job opportunities in the region. “Besides, the plant has a lot of potential for expansion, as it currently uses only about 30% of the premises granted to it by the St. Petersburg government. So, there are opportunities to boost the production output up to 500,000 cars per year. Of course, such volume of production will certainly depend on the economic recovery and prevailing situations on the auto market.”
The Russian prime minister also used the moment to specifically stress the government’s commitment to promoting and supporting the executions of large-scale investment projects in the country, despite the current difficulties posed by the international financial crunch and recalcitrant global economic crisis. “The Russian government has and will continue to support all types of investments into the local economy, especially the so-called foreign direct investments and others that are connected with the development of high technologies and realization of new ideas and innovations in Russia.”
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