It should be noted that our country is one of the leading markets for Nissan vehicles worldwide. In the Russian Federation, the auto concern Nissan sells a dozen of its models, including Nissan Note, Almera, Tiida, Teana, Juke, Qashqai (Qashqai + 2), Murano, X-Trail, Pathfinder, Navara, Patrol, GT-R, as well as commercial NP-300 and Cabstar vehicles.
Since 2009, the first Nissan plant in Russia - "Nissan Manufacturing Rus" - has been operating near St. Petersburg, where a number of models of the company are produced today - Teana, Murano and X-Trail. At the same time, about 35% of all Nissan cars sold are assembled in Russia.
In general, it should be noted the factories where Nissan cars are assembled for subsequent import to Russia:
- Plant in Sunderland, UK
- Directly a factory in Japan
- Nissan Manufacturing Rus plant in St. Petersburg
- The AvtoVAZ plant in Togliatti, where the assembly of Nissan models began after the auto concern merged with its French competitor, Renault.
Nissan plant in St. Petersburg
Where is Nissan Almera (Almera classic) assembled?
One of the best and best-selling public sector employees in our country and one of the oldest models of Nissan, produced since 1995, has recently (since 2012) been assembled in Russia at a plant in Togliatti at the Avtovaz plant, which caused a whole crowd of indignation of potential buyers of this model and , it should be honestly noted that it was the AvtoVAZ assembly that swept aside some of the lovers of the model and brand.
But her Korean "brother" - Nissan Almera Classic, whose production stopped back in 2013, was assembled at the Samsung plant in South Korea.
Where is Nissan Qashqai assembled?
Nissan Qashqai is one of the best-selling crossovers in our country. More than two million vehicles have rolled off the assembly line since the model's launch in 2007. At the same time, each new Nissan Qashqai becomes wider and longer, but at the same time lighter and more efficient than the earlier generation. It is a great addition to the Russian crossover market with advantages such as great practicality, efficient engines and a pleasant interior.
Unlike its predecessor, Nissan Qashqai is not yet assembled in Russia - the original assembly of the model for the Russian and European markets is carried out at a plant in Sunderland, Great Britain. However, only a limited number of modifications of this popular crossover are supplied to Russia - for example, Russians can be content with only gasoline engines.
Where is Nissan Teana assembled?
The class of full-size cars was replenished in Russia in 2003, when Teana came to Russia, which has now become one of the favorite and popular models among many motorists. For a long time Nissan Teana was assembled in Japan, and "purebred" Japanese Teans were supplied to Russia. However, with the launch of an assembly plant near St. Petersburg, the Tean assembly for Russia rolled over here, following the trends of the modern car market in a similar class - recall that Toyota of the same class as Teana - Camry and Avensis also moved to our country for assembly.
In addition, the Nissan Teana is also being assembled for a number of other markets in Japan and Thailand.
Where is Nissan Juke assembled?
But starting from the 2014 model year, the Pathfinder has been assembled in the same St. Petersburg plant in Russia, although the previous generations of the car were brought to us from Spain.
Where is Nissan Patrol assembled?
True SUVs with no frills are becoming increasingly rare today. In fact, most buyers want the looks and practicality of crossovers, not the amazing off-road performance. But in the case of the Patrol, everything is completely different - this is exactly the car that is designed to operate in the harshest conditions. The long cycle of three- and five-door models has gradually evolved into fairly beautiful and functional cars. A big step was taken in 2004 when the Nissan Patrol was fitted with a revolutionary new body, significantly redesigned the interior and included more equipment.
But the main advantage of the Patrol is that in Russia it is the first truly purebred Nissan on our list - for our country, Nissan Patrol is assembled exclusively in Japan and nowhere else ... at least not yet.
Where is Nissan Navara assembled?
But the famous Nissan pickup truck, which is rarely updated with both the filling and the exterior, is going for Russia in Spain (as the Nissan Pathfinder was once assembled in Spain).
Where Nissan cars are assembled - summary table
| Nissan model | Build country |
|---|---|
| Nissan micra | Great Britain |
| Nissan almera | Russia (AvtoVAZ) |
| Nissan almera classic | South Korea |
| Nissan tiida | Mexico |
| Nissan note | Great Britain |
| Nissan teana | Russia |
| Nissan juke | UK and Japan |
| Nissan Qashqai (Qashqai + 2) | Great Britain |
| Nissan x-trail | Russia |
| Nissan pathfinder | Russia |
| Nissan navara | Spain |
| Nissan Murano | Russia, Japan |
| Nissan terrano | Russia |
| Nissan patrol | Japan |
| Nissan cube | Japan |
| Nissan gt-r | Japan |
| Discontinued production or not supplied to Russia Nissan models | |
| Nissan primera | Japan |
| Nissan maxima | Japan |
| Nissan sunny | Japan |
| Nissan skyline | Japan |
| Nissan tino | Japan |
The Russians are familiar with the cars of the Japanese Nissan brand; this technique is highly popular and popular with the people. In addition, for many Nissan cars, Russia is the country of origin. In general, the Japanese company has founded several factories around the world:
- manufacturing facility in Sunderland (UK);
- Japanese plant;
- a large company Nissan Manufacturing Rus is located in St. Petersburg;
- the AvtoVAZ plant is located in Togliatti, which began producing cars from Nissan after merging with Renault.
Which models can boast of Russian assembly? What cars are supplied to Russia from other countries? These questions will concern us today.
Assembly site Nissan Almera Classic
This model has been produced since 1995, it is one of the oldest models, which is successfully sold on the territory of the Russian Federation. This budget model was launched in Tolyatti in 2012. Not everyone liked this decision of the company, because the army of Almera fans thinned out significantly. AvtoVAZ assembly had a number of drawbacks that many did not want to put up with.
As for the Korean version of the Nissan Almera Classic, it was assembled in South Korea at the Samsung plant. This lasted until 2013. We figured out where Nissan Almera is assembled, it's time to move on to other, no less interesting and iconic models.
Place of assembly Qashqai
A better-selling crossover than the Nissan Qashqai simply does not exist. The sales of this car are breaking all records. The assembly of the Nissan Qashqai was launched in 2007. Up to this point, more than 2 million copies. With the release of each new generation, vehicle dimensions increase, weight decreases and efficiency increases.
This model is not produced in Russia. Where, then, is Nissan Qashqai assembled and from where is it supplied to the Russian market? This process is established in the UK. From here, cars are delivered to the European and Russian markets. True, a limited number of modifications are offered to the attention of the Russians. This applies, for example, to gasoline units - other options are not offered to the Russian user.
Teana build site
The niche of full-size cars on Russian market until 2003 was defective. That all changed with the release of the Nissan Teana, which was originally assembled in Japan. Then this process migrated to St. Petersburg and the national market was already flooded with models of domestic assembly. Among the countries that produce Nissan Teana, there are also Japan and Thailand. These cars are not supplied to Russia.
Juke build location
Nissan Juke - a car for women Interesting and unusual is the Nissan Juke. Its appearance in 2010 shook the public and caused a mixed reaction. The fans of such cars are representatives of the younger generation and female drivers. They love the unusual design of the car, the interesting placement of the grips, and the stunning design of the optics. Are you already wondering where the Nissan Juke is assembled? This process has been established in Japan and the UK. Unfortunately, or, on the contrary, fortunately, Nissan Juke is not assembled in Russia. Therefore, the Russians have to be content, which does not greatly upset them.
Micra assembly site
In 2003, Nissan set new standards in the small car niche with the launch of the new Micra. Even after so much time, the Micra remains the best in its class. Let not everyone agree with this opinion, but it will be difficult for everyone to resist good equipment, economy and low cost. This model is not assembled at any of the Russian factories. The Russians are supplied with such cars from Britain.
Place of assembly Note
Since 2006, there has probably not been a more popular family car than the Note. Even now, 13 years later, this model remains popular and relevant. After all the changes and modifications, the modern Nissan Note has become more environmentally friendly and safer. These two criteria are fundamental when choosing a family car.
This miracle of technology is assembled at a British plant already known to us. From here, cars are delivered to the markets of three continents at once, including the territory of Russia.
Place of assembly Tiida
In 2007, the Russians saw a cool budget model that seriously competed with many copies in this price range. Tiida is available for the Russian user. Where is Nissan Tiida assembled for Russia? You will be surprised, but this process is well established in Mexico. This model takes the longest to reach its potential buyer. Although for other countries and continents, the car is supplied from Japan and Thailand.
X-Trail assembly site
Legendary is the Nissan X-Trail, which was able to push back such rating cars as the Honda CR-V, Hyundai Santa Fe and Kia Sorento. No one has yet succeeded in creating a better one. Despite its long history, Nissan's X-Trail is even today the best and most popular. Each new generation impresses with internal and external changes.
In this car, practicality, spaciousness of the trunk and smart filling are appreciated, which is aimed at making the driver's life easier and increasing the comfort of using the car. And everything would be fine if the Russian assembly did not spoil this picture. For a long time Nissan X-Trail has been assembled in Russia, and recently even in St. Petersburg this iconic car has been produced. Until 2009, machines of domestic and Japanese assembly were supplied to the Russian market, which allowed the buyer to choose between economy and first-class quality.
Murano assembly site
The Nissan Murano is as luxurious as the BMW X5, sporty, with a unique body shape and affordable compared to other similar models. Nissan Murano is assembled both in Russia (St. Petersburg) and in Japan. Both options are supplied to the Russian market, so you can choose between affordability and Japanese ideal quality.
Place of assembly Pathfinder
Full-size crossovers often attract not by their cross-country ability, but by their size, high power and status. This is the trend in the global market. The Nissan Pathfinger is assembled for just such occasions. We do not want to hint at its low permeability, because it is not. But on such a car you really do not want to travel on dirty roads and pave new roads.
The release of this handsome man began back in 1984, despite this fact, the latest generation demonstrates. The Pathfinder costs nothing to plug solid models such as Toyota's Land Rover Discovery and Prado. And yet, back to the main issue that worries us most today - where is the Nissan Pathfinder assembled. Previously, the car was supplied to the Russian market from Spain. With the onset of 2014, the St. Petersburg plant began to assemble this iconic model.
Place of assembly Patrol and Navara
Every year it becomes more and more difficult to find a real SUV. Crossovers that seduce with beauty and practicality are more appreciated. The Patrol is a real, tough car that can withstand any conditions, ready to overcome difficult obstacles. The main advantage of this model is the Japanese assembly. So far, the company is not going to spoil such a copy of Russian production.
Navara stands out among the pickups. This model is famous and expressive. The manufacturer rarely pampers us with updated versions, but that is why this model does not become less popular and interesting. A pickup truck is delivered to the territory of the Russian Federation from Spain, which can also be considered as an advantage. Spain is certainly not Japan, but it is also a good option.
We reviewed many models produced by the Japanese automobile concern Nissan. We hope you find this information useful.
Now the second generation Nissan Qashqai (J11 index) is assembled in Russia, side by side with the older X ‑ Trail model. Along with the local registration, Qashqai received changes for our operating conditions.
For comparison, we rode our Qashqai and in English, and then drove them onto a lift - and bombarded with questions from Philip Dyakov, senior engineer of the technical department of the Russian branch of Nissan. Philip didn’t tell any mysterious stories in the style of “Carlos Ghosn himself appeared in a dream and told me that it was necessary to increase the capacity of the tank for washing”, but now we know how the process of “Russification” of cars goes in general.
The decision on improvements is made at the very top, taking into account the costs of implementing ideas. Usually the list of changes is quite wide, and our operating conditions dictate it. When there is mud, snow and bad roads all around, no one will give up all-wheel drive and high ground clearance. And Russian clients are more sensitive to the quality of plastic, the width of the gaps, to squeaks - they want maximum comfort.
Philip has been in this business for the second decade. The head department of the technical center is located in Europe, Dyakov heads the Russian branch of nine people. All of them with a higher automotive education, with experience in the Nissan company, and many began by twisting the nuts with their own hands. Of course, employees undergo practical training and training at the European center. Their competence is the assessment of driving and consumer qualities, on the basis of which the engineering department issues recommendations for design changes. But the work of collecting information is much larger.
One to one?
The list of changes begins to form when the model is run. As part of the Auto launch survey procedure, already held and potential buyers share their opinions about the car, marketing surveys are conducted, and the dealership receivers collect comments. All data is systematized by marketers, and we get the final information. As a rule, as a result, the driving performance changes markedly: if the American models are notable for the smoothness of the ride, but they do not steer well, and the suspension of the “Europeans” is compressed, then we have to compromise.
Philip assures that it was the same with Qashqai. Even the cars supplied to us from England were already different from those sold in Europe, and when put on the St. Petersburg conveyor, the Qashqai changed even more.
This is a fortunate exception to the rule. More often, the opportunity to correct the accumulated comments is tied to the subsequent restyling, which must be waited for three to four years, and then there was a chance to improve the car literally a year after the start of sales. On the Russian-assembled Qashqai, we used the front and rear subframes from the X-Trail - they are attached through silent blocks and will not fit on an English car, since the embedded elements are located differently. I don’t know why the Europeans didn’t do it right away. We, thanks to this solution, slightly reduced the level of vibrations. The subframe pulled the levers and axle shafts along with it - as a result, the track grew by 20 mm in front and 30 mm in the rear. Because of this, it was necessary to change the linings on the arches so that they cover the wheels - it is the linings that are a sure sign of the Russian assembly of Kashkai.
Even in the course of improvements, the clearance was increased by 10 mm (up to 200 mm). Philip grumbles that everything was fine before - Qashqai climbed onto any curb without problems, which is why the lip of the front bumper remained unchanged. But once there was an opportunity to trump the increased ground clearance, then they took advantage of it.
All versions of the Russian Kashkayevs have a unified fuel tank, its capacity is 60 liters (for the "British" the volume depends on the modification).
The soundproofing of the engine shield has been reinforced. The rear suspension on all Russian cars is multi-link - they refused from semi-dependent on weak crossovers, so as not to lose comfort and controllability. As for the conditionally greater reliability of the beam and ease of maintenance, the Nissan propose not to worry about the multi-link: it, like the entire car, is covered by a three-year warranty.
Shock absorbers supplied by Tenneco - with more comfortable settings. And the electric power steering has also been recalibrated. After winding several hundred kilometers on the British and Russian versions, I confirm: the differences are noticeable! And I prefer "European" more. It repeats the asphalt terrain in a little more detail, but it is perceived as more collected during active driving and responds to the steering wheel more accurately. But I’m ready to admit that comfort is more important to most drivers. And the St. Petersburg Qashqai is softer on bumpy roads - even despite the wheels with 215/45 R19 tires versus 215/60 R17 tires on an English car. And it's a pity that we could not personally assess the properties of the Pirelli Scorpion Verde summer tires, which our Qashqai are equipped with. According to Philip, they appeared in the process of localization and proved to be excellent in terms of grip and ride comfort.
On December 9, production of the new Nissan X-Trail started at the Nissan plant in St. Petersburg. However, this model can be called new only conditionally: its debut took place in 2013 at the Frankfurt Motor Show, and mass sales began in July this year. In Russia, initially there was a stake on the localization of this model, so they did not export the new X-Trail.
The first two months in St. Petersburg will be what is called "gain volume", and when the collected X-Trails are enough and they will appear at all Russian dealers, the official sale will begin. This should happen in February 2015.
The launch ceremony was formal and modest. Governor Georgy Poltavchenko was expected, but he did not come. Instead, Maxim Meyksin, the chairman of the committee for industrial policy and innovations of St. Petersburg, said only a couple of duty words. The head of Nissan in Europe, Paul Willcox, was also not very informative, as was Philip Sayyar, CEO of Nissan Manufacturing Rus.
Philip Sayyar, CEO of Nissan Manufacturing Rus
They only reported that the St. Petersburg plant opened a "second stage" for the X-Trail: if earlier its capacity was 50,000 cars per year, now it has increased to 100,000. An additional 71 thousand square meters of production space cost the Japanese company 167 million euros. The workforce expanded from 1,900 to 2,266.
But about the car itself, the Nissan people preferred not to persistently speak: no prices, no complete sets, no expected volume of production - nothing. It's too early, they say. They can be understood: by February the situation on the market will become completely different, it is generally not clear what kind of cars will be in demand. You will announce the price list now, and the euro exchange rate will fly to Mars tomorrow. And what, to apologize?
Therefore, the only topic that the Nissan people talked about willingly is localization. By 2016, 90% of cars sold by Nissan in Russia will be produced in the country, given the sites in Izhevsk, Togliatti and Moscow.
Plant director Dmitry Mikhailov never tired of repeating: localization is the only way to remain competitive and Nissan (like the entire Alliance) will consistently become more and more Russian. The plant has something to strive for: if in Togliatti and Izhevsk the production of stamping and even engines has already been established, in St. Petersburg the percentage of domestic production is only 39. A year later, a stamping shop of the Japanese company Unipres Corporation should start operating near the Nissan plant, then localization will increase to 45%. And then it will not be easy: in St. Petersburg they make models that are quite expensive and small-run. Taking into account the fact that next year a new Qashqai will enter the assembly line, it turns out that one model will be produced on average 20,000 per year, and this is subject to full load. It is rather difficult to attract local suppliers for such volumes.
Dmitry Mikhailov, General Director of the Nissan plant in St. Petersburg
Let's see how the Nissans are doing for the Russian market.
At the component warehouse, special carts with components of a specific vehicle are formed.
The power units are suspended on a monorail conveyor for additional assembly, and some attachments are fitted here.
The first workshop is a body shop. It starts with a rolling section, where robots roll the hinged elements of the body - doors, hood and trunk lids.
Then, on the conductors, the floor panels, the engine shield and the sidewalls are manually welded.
Then attached parts are attached to the body.
And he goes through the surface finishing.
Some bodies are "pulled" from the line to a special laboratory where three-dimensional measurements of geometry are carried out at 1500 points. The tolerance is 1 mm. It is possible to check two bodies per shift - it is not a quick business.
The new body shop, built as part of the plant expansion, is "sharpened" directly for the X-Trail, and, in the future, Qashqai. Here everything happens exactly according to the same technology as in the old workshop: rolling, welding, welding, assembly. Finishing welding is carried out by 12 robots.
Eleven new stations weld 13 types of subassemblies using seven robots. Welding jigs between posts move on self-propelled carts. The same cannot be said about finished bodies: they have to be pushed by hand.
The assembled bodies are visually inspected and fine-tuned.
After that, the carts are manually rolled into the dressing room of the paint shop.
Here is the last cosmetic stage: cleaning the interior with a vacuum cleaner and wiping off the remains of stamping oil from the surfaces.
The noted shortcomings will be eliminated only later.
The idle public is not allowed into the "paint brushes". The Nissan guys got out gracefully - they put a projector on which they showed a small movie about a paint shop. Nothing special, everything is more or less standard.
The process begins with surface preparation, which includes 11 consecutive baths with different solutions. The metal is cleaned, degreased, and receives a protective phosphate coating.
Then - cataphoresis priming at a voltage of 330 Volts and drying at 180 degrees.
During the expansion of the plant, a second preparation and priming line was installed here, now their total throughput is 40 bodies per hour.
After drying, large joints are sealed, anti-noise mastic and anti-gravel are applied to individual areas.
Then - another drying and final sanding.
The painting complex was also recently modernized: instead of solvent-based materials, they switched to water-soluble paints. Such enamels are more difficult to store and apply, but more environmentally friendly. Plus, it became possible to abandon the intermediate drying of the secondary soil layer.
Eight robots of the new painting complex allow painting 20 cars per hour. The painted and varnished body is dried in an oven at a temperature of 140 degrees. Then it is examined and polished again.
Here is the color scheme of the St. Petersburg Nissan for today.
A dazzlingly beautiful red-haired girl Alena works in the paint shop, with whom I immediately began to get acquainted. And I met! But I will not show the photo, because it’s not a fig.
The bodies brought to the required condition are covered with wax in hidden cavities and sent to the drive. Bumpers are painted separately.
By the way, about the bumpers. They are made right here, at the plant, in a new (launched at the beginning of the year) "plastic" workshop.
Thresholds for Teana will be made soon. The workshop employs 10 people, but next year there will be a second shift (10 more).
There are two large injection molding machines:
Warehouse for replaceable molds:
And a device for preparing mass from granulate:
First, the bumpers are molded under pressure, then the holes for the headlight washers and parking sensors are cut out with a laser. The finished bumpers are sent directly to the painting.
In the same workshop, parts for the dashboard are cast by the supplier Calsonic Kansei. All plastic scraps and parts that do not pass quality control are crushed and the granulate is reused. You can do this with polypropylene.
Assembly workshop - a combination of overhead and trolley conveyors.
Here they are very careful about the safety of the paintwork, in most areas the body simply sinks in the protective linings.
Somewhere there are robots for pasting glass, but they were not shown to us.
In parallel with the assembly of the cabin, various modules are being assembled, first of all, the instrument panel, which is here called the "instrument panel".
The "torpedo" leaves the workshop on an automatic shaitan-cart.
And it gets into the queue for the installation.
Then - the section of the undercarriage. Wheels are being prepared nearby, both main and spare.
Now the installation of the power unit, gas tank, exhaust system and suspensions. The wheels are fastened by placing them in the grooves of special pantographs, which saves labor.
The seats can now be installed.
And, as a finale, the doors removed before the start of assembly and assembled separately.
Hybrid Pathfinders are collected in a separate area, this is due to the specifics of the installation of electrical components.
That's it, this is where the assembly line ends and quality controllers take over.
After visual inspection ...
… The cars drive into the descent-breakup stand, where the headlights are regulated at the same time.
Then - a dynamic test on a roller stand.
The car is "accelerated" to 120 km / h and slowed down. The responsiveness and uniformity of the braking mechanisms are evaluated.
Now, through the section for checking the engine compartment, the cars go to the assessment of the tightness, into the shower chamber (there are two of them at the factory). Long-term "watering" is selectively performed.
Along the way, the suspension shakes.
In the final - driveways along the factory paths and a storage area.
It is curious that commercial vehicles leave the factory with film-protected discs. A trifle - and the dealer less hassle during pre-sale preparation.
Nissan X-Trail is equipped with Dunlop tires, but Yokohama is used as a spare wheel, it is cheaper.
In general, the build quality of the X-Trail is very high.
Here is today's product line:
The Nissan plant in St. Petersburg is an extremely rational enterprise. It does not amaze with the amount of robotics (there are many times more robots on the VAZ Kalina welding line), but it has the highest efficiency (which cannot be said about the same VAZ). Three times this plant was recognized as the best in product quality among all the factories of the company, scattered around the world, from Japan to Mexico. This compact, simple, unpretentious little factory.
They know how.
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First, about the model itself. The first generation X-Trail was released in 2000. The model was based on the Nissan FF-S platform, and its exterior was decided in the style of the legendary Nissan Patrol SUV. This brutality, which largely determined the popularity of the novelty, subsequently served as a pretext for criticism of the designers who proposed a new look for the evolved X-Trail. But this will happen only 13 years later, and in 2007 the second generation of the X-Trail, created on the Nissan C-platform, entered the world markets. The same one on which the Qashqai model was launched a year earlier.
Car production in St. Petersburg started in 2009, and in 2012 the plant was awarded its first award: "The best plant for quality" among all Nissan plants in the world
There were few design refinements in the exterior of the second generation, and the X-Trail was still a brutal car - in this Nissan marketers saw one of the highlights of the model. And in 2013, the third generation of the X-Trail came out, which sparked talk about whether the popular car has lost its masculine character, and with it its off-road qualities? As for the latter, it has definitely not lost, but brutality ... Be that as it may, but even in Russia, where they know a lot about SUVs, sales of X-Trail today exceeded sales figures for Qashqai - a car that has long and well established itself in the SUV segment ...
Parts for the body shop come from our own stamping shop
Production of the third generation X-Trail at the Nissan plant in St. Petersburg started in December 2014, and the launch was carried out in record time. But this does not mean at all that the manufacturers could count on some discounts in terms of quality: only full compliance with all company standards gives the green light to start production of the model. By the way, about the loss of brutality ... At the start of Russian production of the third generation X-Trail, fans of the model were interested in whether it was possible to leave the previous version on the assembly line?
It is clear that there were more emotions at the heart of the question: the new X-Trail, firstly, is much more technologically advanced, and secondly, its design required more careful work with gaps and differences in body surfaces, and this fact was very soon noted by Russian buyers. As for the efficiency with which the launch of the model took place, the employees of the plant are proud of it for a reason: the start of production of the X-Trail took place simultaneously with the expansion of the plant.
December 2014. The plant launched the production of the new Nissan X-Trail
By 2014, the plant, annually producing about 50,000 cars, reached its maximum capacity, and without the expansion of production facilities, the release of new models was no longer possible. New production sites also appeared, such as a stamping shop and a plastic shop, which made it possible to significantly increase the share of domestic components in the X-Trail model. In addition, the rapid start-up was facilitated by changes in the management structure: in each department there was a team directly responsible for the launch. The work of this group began at the stage of solving engineering issues, one and a half to two years before the start of production. All the measures taken made it possible to reach the required level of quality not in three months released according to Nissan standards, but in eight to nine weeks.
The painting shop of the plant is equipped with the most modern equipment
The speed with which a new model is launched into production, the figures reflecting the volumes of that very production - all this is important. But there is another equally important criterion - quality. “10-15 years ago, it was believed that the Russian consumer, in conditions of shortage, did not assess the quality of cars so critically,” says Boris Mezentsev, manager of quality assurance for cars of Nissan Manufacturing Rus LLC. - Today, judging by the data of the annual questionnaires of the European standard, we see that our clients are sometimes more demanding than clients in Europe.
And, as a rule, we are not talking about quality, this is a fact taken for granted. Russian customers want to own a car of the highest standard. " An example of such exactingness was the appeal regarding the size of the gaps in the body parts of the Nissan Teana, although they all fit within the tolerances defined by the Japanese side. As for the X-Trail, there were no issues with gaps and differences in body parts even with the release of the first model. “Without full compliance with Nissan standards, we simply could not produce cars of this brand,” continues Boris Mezentsev. "But if a customer demands an even higher level of quality, we can tighten up Japanese regulations within our plant." And this is not just a declaration of intent: in order to stay ahead of customers' wishes, some tolerances have been revised at Nissan's St. Petersburg plant.
Consumer feedback is really important to plant engineering, and it is not just about collecting statistics and analyzing warranty claims. Measures are being taken on the most pressing requests. For example, there were wishes to change the base angle of the low beam in the Nissan X-Trail headlights. And despite the fact that changing the parameters when installing the head lighting must simultaneously meet the requirements of Nissan and the Russian technical regulations, the customers' request was satisfied. There were also wishes to improve the efficiency of the Nissan X-Trail.
As a result, today's model, in particular, is equipped with an eco-mode function, and compared to the T31, fuel consumption has been reduced by 20-25%. Moreover, in December 2016, a direct line of communication between customers and the plant was launched, excluding not so prompt communication through questionnaires or dealerships. There are also more global wishes of Russian clients. For example, many would like to have a larger trunk on their third generation X-Trail. It is clear that in the conditions of the plant this problem cannot be solved, but such wishes are passed on to the design department of Nissan, and it is very likely that they will be taken into account when developing the next X-Trail model.
Quality standards are determined by Nissan, but internal factory requirements are sometimes more stringent.
It is clear that the client always wants something more. But the third-generation Nissan X-Trail still fits the bill for a reliable family SUV. In comparison with the previous version, it became more maneuverable, received improved steering and variator settings. That is, as the engineers of the Nissan plant themselves say, "has become more friendly." As for the design, which someone at the level of the launch of the model considered controversial, it hardly scared away the true admirers of this car, but it certainly attracted new customers to the ranks of the "Nissan X-Trail fan club".
And in conclusion, a few words about the Russian assembly, a topic that a few years ago was the talk of the town. Today, the level of consumer confidence in cars assembled in Russia is much higher, but one fact is still worth mentioning: according to the results of the latest independent audit, which was commissioned by the Japanese headquarters, the St. Petersburg Nissan plant in terms of the number of points scored was ahead of the European head company enterprise, plant in Sunderland (Great Britain).
The growth of production required both the expansion of areas and the emergence of new workshops. The picture shows a plastic workshop
From 2009 to 2014, the plant produced 113,818 Nissan X-Trail vehicles, and from 2014 to the present day, more than 52,000 vehicles of the new version.
