Nissan Inaugurates New R&D Centre In St. Petersburg

Nissan has announced the opening of a new office for the Russian subdivision of Nissan Technical Centre Europe in St. Petersburg. The mission of the facility is the development of vehicles, as well as the implementation of technological innovations, for the Russian market. Since 2005, Nissan's in-market engineers have made a significant contribution to the process of adapting Nissan vehicles to meet the demands of challenging Russian road and weather conditions.

Located in the Primorsky district of St. Petersburg, close to the Nissan plant, the new two-storey office features laboratories fitted with special equipment to carry out a wide range of validation and investigation work. 120 skilled employees now work in this centre, with the facility offering expansion to accommodate 200 staff.

Nobusuke Tokura, senior vice president NTCE, said: "The opening of our new facility is testament to our ongoing commitment to the Russian market. The role of Research & Development is key to ensuring our vehicles are fit for the evolving needs of our Russian customers. We look forward to a bright future of innovation and the expansion of our NTCE capabilities with this new office."

Alongside researching Russian customer preferences and developing the brand's Russia model line-up in accordance with its findings, the office will also be responsible for localizing components and materials, increasing the capability and capacity of local suppliers, providing engineering support for the NMGR plant and monitoring the performance of vehicles already in production.