- Nissan will build the Murano SUV at its St. Petersburg factory at the beginning of 2011.
- The automaker expects higher demand for luxury business-class cars in Russia next year.
- Nissan Murano is expected to be priced starting at $60,000.
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia — Nissan will add production of its Murano SUV to its St. Petersburg factory at the beginning of 2011, according to Francois de Buie, CEO of Nissan Russia.
Currently, demand for the Nissan Murano in Russia has left much to be desired. Last year, only 1,493 were sold in the country. However, the company expects demand to increase this year.
Russian analysts believe that Nissan's move to establish production of the pricey Murano in Russia, instead of the lower-echelon Qashqai or Almer, can be explained by the company's desire to increase Russian profits through the production of expensive cars in small volumes instead of low-cost cars in great numbers.
Nissan expects higher demand for luxury business-class cars in Russia next year, Andrei Rozhkov, an analyst of IFC Metropol, has said.
"The St. Petersburg plant is designed to produce 50,000 cars per year at full capacity, which is not so much," according to Tatiana Natarova, Nissan Russia's manager of public relations. "So we decided to focus on the production of middle- and high-end models, such as the Teana, X-Trail and Murano. All three models come to Russia from the same plant in Japan, and it's more convenient for the company to produce [them] at the same plant in Russia," she adds.
According to CEO Buie, the company has not yet decided on production numbers for the Murano. It is expected to be priced starting at $60,000.
Inside Line says: Russian consumers will find the Murano's price rather high for their taste. — Evgeniy Vorotnikov, Correspondent
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