Nissan will mark its entry into the Russian mainstream market by making the new Almera locally at the Togliatti plant.

The Almera is developed jointly by Nissan’s offices in Japan, UK and Russia, and is said to be the one of the most spacious sedans in the segment. The ‘mainstream segment’ is another way of saying it’s an eco car, so it should be good in terms of value for money.

Almera will be manufactured in Togliatti on an all-new production line following training of staff by Nissan engineers.  New Paint and Body Shop facilities will also be opened at the plant ahead of Almera’s production launch in November.

Russia already is Nissan’s biggest European market; Last year the Nissan factory in St Petersburg produced more than 43,000 business class Nissan Teana and Nissan Murano models, alongside X-Trail. But the growth in the mainstream segment makes it a no-brainer for the Japanese car maker to invest for a long term plan.

Francois Goupil De Bouille, Nissan Managing Director for Russia, commented: “As part of the Nissan Power 88 mid-term plan, we want to significantly increase our share of the overall Russian car market by 2016. Models like Almera will be crucial to our success.”

“Nissan already offers one of the broadest model line-ups of any foreign manufacturer in Russia, but to date we have not been strongly represented in the fastest growing mainstream market.

“Almera will change that and bring something new to the segment by offering outstanding value, unique Japanese design, interior space not previously available in this market sector and world-class quality