PRESS: Nissan to optimize car model range in Russia

MOSCOW, Aug 10 (PRIME) -- Japanese carmaker Nissan plans to renew its model range at its St. Petersburg plant over the next few years, Paul Willcox, chairman of management committee for Europe, said in an interview with business daily Vedomosti released on Thursday.

“We are quite satisfied with the current results. If you look at Nissan’s model range in Russia, you will see that it is very big, there are way too many models. We are carrying out optimization of the model range, as a result we want to focus on models that are being sold most successfully and remove less successful models from the market,” he said.

He said the company faced difficulties with supporting such a big number of models in Russia amid the ruble’s instability and a falling market.

“That’s why our strategy in Russia now is to support key models, and these are sport-utility vehicles, the segment where Nissan is traditionally strong. In Russia these are Juke, Qashqai, Terrano X-trail and Murano,” Willcox said.

Nissan has plans to introduce new models on the market, but doesn’t reveal details so far, he said.

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