Nissan: country of origin and features of the model range

The Japanese automobile company with a rich history and an excellent market position today continues to develop, cooperating with powerful global manufacturers. The Nissan concern has become one of the most powerful Japanese car manufacturers, offering customers cars in different classes and with different technical characteristics. The Nissan company also owns the Datsun brand, which became known to Russian motorists in 2014. A budget sedan of this brand has appeared on the market, assembled at a plant in Tolyatti.

The Nissan company does not strive to provide its customers with exclusively Japanese cars. This makes it possible to build assembly plants around the world and produce cars directly in the regions that need to be covered with products. This approach to production makes the company’s machines cheaper for the end consumer and more profitable for the corporation itself.

Where is Nissan made?

One of the largest manufacturers of passenger cars, as well as buses, trucks, boats and some other equipment is the Japanese automaker Nissan.
The company was founded in 1933 on December 26th. The automobile concern appeared as a result of the merger of subsidiaries and Tobata Imono. Until 1959, the company's factories were located only in Japan, and the first production abroad was built in Taiwan. The Nissan concern owns its own fleet, and thanks to this fact, since 1976 the company has become the largest supplier of cars in the world. Over the years, Nissan merged with other automobile companies (Volkswagen, Renault, etc.). Today, the company's production facilities are located in 20 countries, including Russia.

You can find out the meaning of the name of a car brand if you read our article What does “Nissan” mean?

Where is Nissan manufactured these days?

The countries where Nissan is produced are, first of all, Japan, as well as South Korea, Great Britain, Spain, Mexico, Russia, and Thailand. In addition, in some countries of Asia and Europe they produce spare parts for Nissan cars; these are the so-called incomplete series productions.

Japanese factories produce models such as Nissan Patrol, Nissan Murano, Nissan Juke, Nissan Cube, Nissan GT-R, as well as models that are not exported to Russia or have been discontinued - Nissan Primera, Nissan Maxima, Nissan Tino, Nissan Skyline ,Nissan Sunny. In the UK there are car factories that produce the following models: Nissan Micra, Nissan Note, Nissan Juke, Nissan Qashqai (Qashqai+2). The Nissan Almera Classic is produced in South Korea, the Nissan Tiida is produced in Mexico, and the Nissan Navara is produced in Spain.

Nissan production facilities in the Russian Federation

In Russia there are several production facilities where six brands of Nissan are assembled: Nissan Almera (produced together with AvtoVAZ), Nissan Teana, Nissan X-Trail, Nissan Pathfinder, Nissan Murano, Nissan Terrano.

The first plant of this company in the Russian Federation was opened in 2009 near the northern capital; it is called “Nissan Manufacturing Rus”, although the official representative office

Cooperation between Nissan and other global companies

The company began international cooperation in the middle of the last century, when it brought the Volkswagen Corporation to Japan. Having sacrificed part of its capacity, Nissan received huge profits from cooperation with the German automotive monster. The companies maintain partnerships to this day.

Since the 1970s, a recession began at the Nissan enterprise, which led to a decline in production and a significant decrease in the quality of car manufacturing. The corporation finds a solution to the problem in cooperation with the successful Renault concern, which currently owns more than 40% of the shares. The steps taken by Renault to save Nissan were as follows:

• a European with a clear understanding of crisis management was placed at the head of the company;
• Astronomical amounts of funds were poured into promoting and improving the quality of production;
• constant updating of the technical arsenal of production workshops began;
• the company began to attract Japanese technical geniuses and intercept personnel from other enterprises;
• The main focus was on the export of cars, which continues to this day.

It is quite difficult for Nissan to advance in the domestic market due to the presence of incredibly strong competitors. And in other countries, by reducing the cost and increasing the functionality of its cars, the company promotes all offers in the model line. In today's conditions, Nissan is one of the most promising Japanese concerns.

However, competitors are constantly catching up with the corporation and forcing it to move forward. In Russia, the cars of the Japanese corporation have become more popular on the secondary market, because new cars are actively rising in price, which buyers do not like. But the company’s popularity still remained quite high, thanks to the non-standard solutions of the model line.

Russian production facilities

What does the Mazda icon mean?
In 2009, our country opened the Nissan Manufacturing Rus enterprise, which produces Nissan models that are in good demand on the Russian market. The plant is located near the village of Shushary near St. Petersburg and specializes only in the production of Teana, X-Trail and Murano.

Almera Classic has been assembled at the Volzhsky plant in Tolyatti since 2013. After the opening of production of the Nissan Almera Classic at the AvtoVAZ concern, many car enthusiasts, knowing the quality of assembly at domestic enterprises, assumed that the cars would be produced with imperfections.

We even developed some changes that helped Almere Classic adapt to Russian road realities.

Nissan assembly plants

Reasons for unstable operation and oil consumption on the Nissan 3.5 V6 VQ35 engine

One of the main enterprises in Europe that produces Almera is a plant located in England in the city of Sunderland. When shipyards and coal mines in the north-east of Great Britain closed in the early 1980s and unemployment rates rose sharply, the then government decided to cooperate with Japan. Representatives of the Land of the Rising Sun made the right decision by choosing an area with well-developed infrastructure and rich industry. Nissan Motor Manufacturing in Sunderland employs 4 thousand people, and in 2004 they celebrated the production of the first million cars of this brand.

If we talk about the Nissan Almera Classic, then this model is currently produced only in Japan and Russia. In the British Sunderland they stopped its production and switched to a more promising model - Note. Even earlier, the South Korean company Samsung abandoned the production of the Nissan Almera Classic in 2013, explaining this by insufficient capabilities for delivering finished products and the high cost of labor.

The completely budget price helped push our Lada Kalina into the background and, together with Renault Logan, the Chinese Amulet and the seemingly American Chevrolet Lanos, lowered the sales bar for this Russian car. This reshuffle “helped” Almere to immediately acquire a rival in the Kia Spectra.

Having changed the appearance, Japanese designers gave it a certain avant-garde style, making it not as original as that of the former Almera, and the car began to resemble the Volkswagen Passat B5 with the same optics structure, hood and radiator grille shape. Despite the impression made by such a change in appearance, the style of the Almera Classic, as before, is faithful to its classic forms, which were so attractive to Russian car enthusiasts.

Let's sum it up

The Japanese corporation Nissan has an interesting history and offers customers excellent cars. Almost all models that came out from under the wing of this company can be called purebred and unusual. Among the most notable general characteristics of the manufacturer's latest models are excellent shapes, pleasant design, good materials and the highest ride comfort. Even if we are talking about simple budget cars.

The company does not chase the price of its cars, offering more affordable price tags than its main competitors. This is one of the main factors that makes many potential buyers take a serious look at the cars presented. How do you personally feel about the Nissan concern and its modern model line?

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Cars Nissan X-Trail X-Trail III Nissan X-Trail Nissan X-Trail

Products

The lineup

The Nissan brand produces a wide range of passenger and commercial vehicles. The company also sells luxury cars under the Infiniti brand. Until 1983 and starting from 1997, cars under the Datsun brand were also produced.

Produced range of popular Nissan cars in the world.

• Nissan Almera AvtoVAZ Russia Russia UK UK Japan Japan
• Nissan Juke Japan Japan UK UK
• Nissan Qashqai Russia Russia UK UK Japan Japan Iran Iran China China
• Nissan X-Trail Russia Russia Japan Japan UK UK
• Nissan Murano Japan Japan Russia Russia
• Nissan Terrano Russia Russia Spain Spain India India
• Nissan Patrol Japan Japan
• Nissan GT-R Japan Japan

Nissan models that have ceased production or are not supplied to Russia:

• Nissan Micra UK UK (Deliveries to Russia discontinued in 2011)
• Nissan Sentra Russia Russia (Deliveries to Russia discontinued in 2017)
• Nissan Pathfinder Russia Russia Spain Spain (Deliveries to Russia discontinued in 2022)
• Nissan Tiida Japan Japan Mexico Mexico Thailand Thailand (Deliveries to Russia discontinued in 2015)
• Nissan Note UK UK Japan Japan Mexico Mexico (Deliveries to Russia discontinued in 2014)
• Nissan Almera Classic Republic of Korea Republic of Korea (Discontinued in 2013)
• Nissan Teana Russia Russia (Discontinued in Russia in 2015)
• Nissan Navara Spain Spain (Deliveries to Russia discontinued in 2015)
• Nissan Cube Japan Japan (Not officially available in Russia)
• Nissan Primera Japan Japan (Not officially supplied to Russia. Worldwide production ended in 2008)
• Nissan Maxima Japan Japan (Not officially supplied to Russia)
• Nissan Sunny Japan Japan (Not officially available in Russia)
• Nissan Skyline Japan Japan (Supplied to Russia under the Infiniti Q50 brand)
• Nissan Tino Japan Japan (Officially delivered to Russia under the name Almera Tino, worldwide production ended in 2006)

List of Nissan cars produced for the global or domestic market or discontinued

Hybridization

Nissan has reached an agreement with rival Toyota to use some of its hybrid drive technology in the new 2007 Altima.

The Altima Hybrid was Nissan's first hybrid model and is intended for sale only in the US market. This model uses a 2.5 L QR25DE engine. Subsequent models are expected to be based on Nissan's own technology. Nissan has created an electric motor and lithium-ion battery that are 35% smaller and lighter than Toyota counterparts and 30% cheaper. The inverter is 20% smaller than analogues and 30% cheaper. Production of components for hybrids was planned to begin by 2009.

Electric cars

Nissan Leaf

On August 2, 2009, the corporation announced the production of the first mass-produced electric vehicle, called Leaf. Since the spring of 2010, the car has been mass-produced. Sales in the US began in December 2010.

Key highlights of the Nissan Corporation model range

The company's offer includes budget models such as Almera or Sentra. These are quite decent cars that are sold in large quantities and do not serve to improve the image of the corporation. They are very simple, have only the necessary technologies in their configurations and offer the most necessary security systems and nothing more. But their affordable price attracts buyers in the economy segment.

The company’s offer also includes premium vehicles, which are represented, for example, by the Teana executive sedan and the large Murano crossover. This allows the company to count on the favor of customers in different price categories. Crossovers are represented by the budget Terrano and the traditional cross-country X-trail, but the following representatives of the model line attract the most active attention:

• Juke is a compact SUV with an incredibly bold design that has become a successful experiment for the company;
• Qashqai is one of the most popular representatives of the compact crossover class with an excellent price;
• Pathfinder is a true SUV with good technical characteristics and a comfortable interior;
• Patrol is a legendary SUV that was revived several years ago and has gained immense popularity; The GT-R is a sports coupe that offers an incredible engine, great power and great design; The Navarra is one of the largest SUV pickup trucks in its class with capable technology.

As you can see, the company’s model range is quite wide, which allows the brand to promote itself in different segments. Most of the corporation's cars delight their customers with high technology and a fairly high-quality interior, excellent materials and their successful layout. The machines are as modern as possible and meet the most sophisticated customer requirements.

Of course, not all Nissan offers are well received by customers. Among the corporation's proposals there are cars that did not live up to their expectations. For example, the budget Almera sedan, after updating in 2012, was supposed to become one of the most popular in its class, but it could not overcome strong competition from European sedans.

We invite you to watch a test drive of the new Nissan Sentra with all its pros and cons:

Where is Nissan assembled for Russia?

According to statistics from Russian analytical agencies, Nissan cars are among the most popular and beloved on the domestic market. And, most importantly, the Russian sales market is also the largest for the manufacturer of these vehicles.

Russia is confidently one of the top three countries among all sales in the global automaker market. And, naturally, our citizens are interested in the question of where Nissan is assembled for Russia and how high-quality this or that equipment is.

Among the models loved by our car enthusiasts, it is worth highlighting: Qashqai, Almera, Note, Murano, X-Trail, Teana, Navara, Juke, GT-R, etc.

Legitimate question

It is unlikely that car enthusiasts ask this question. Everything is obvious to them; they have long studied the market, models, and manufacturers.

But for those who are thinking about buying a car for the first time, this question is relevant. And then there are people who were never interested in cars at all and suddenly showed interest.

The first answer that suggests itself is “Japan, of course!” But this is not entirely true.

It’s no secret that Japan is a small country and tries to place production outside its territory.

Activity

2009 Nissan President

Nissan Skyline GT-R BNR34 M-Spec Nür

Nissan Patrol Y61

Nissan owns a number of automobile manufacturing enterprises in Japan, Great Britain, USA, Mexico, South Africa, etc.

Since 1985, Nismo, a division engaged in car tuning, has been operating within the company. In addition, the company owns a stake in Nissan Marine, a joint venture with Marubeni that produces engines for powerboats.

The total number of employees as of 2005 was about 160 thousand people.

In fiscal year 2007 (ended March 31, 2008), the company sold 3.77 million vehicles. Consolidated revenue for this period amounted to 10.824 trillion yen ($94.62 billion), profit - 482.3 billion yen ($4.22 billion, for 2005 - $4.787 billion). Sales for 2009 amounted to about 3.1 million cars, excluding Nissan's strategic partner, Renault.

Owners and management

43.3% of the company's shares belong to the French company Renault. The President and Chief Executive Officer was Carlos Ghosn, and as of 2022, the company's CEO is Thierry Bolore, with Jean-Dominique Senard becoming Chairman of the Board of Directors.

The structure of the company

• Nissan Marine is a shipbuilding division that builds a variety of ships and ship engines.
• Nissan Iwaki is an engine manufacturing company.
• Nissan Nismo - Car tuning and modification, design center, from concept sketches to full scale clay model, as well as all interior and exterior design, color design, parts and accessories design.

Nissan also operates in the areas of telecommunications, financial services, and textile engineering. The aerospace division creates engines for rockets.

Nissan in the USSR and Russia

Main article: Nissan Russia

Nissan Qashqai

Nissan has been operating in the USSR since 1983; in 1990 the company sold 2,000 cars in the USSR.

And in 1999, already in Russia, the Almera, Patrol, Terrano II, Maxima QX, Primera and Micra models were sold. Since 2004, Nissan has operated in Moscow with 100% capital. The General Director of Nissan Motor RUS for 2011 is Philippe Saillard. In 2005, the company sold more than 46 thousand cars in Russia - 18 thousand more than in 2004, and already in 2006 sales reached 75 thousand cars and thus Nissan took fourth place among automakers in the domestic market.

On June 13 of this year, company president Carlos Tavares signed an agreement on the construction of an automobile plant with the Russian Ministry of Economic Development - a full-cycle plant with an investment volume of $200 million and a capacity of up to 50 thousand cars per year should be built in the Kamenka industrial zone near St. Petersburg. Construction began in the spring of 2007; The ceremony of laying the first stone of the new plant took place on July 8, 2007

Test assembly of cars was deployed at the plant in early 2009. The grand opening of the plant took place on June 2, 2009. Design capacity is 50 thousand cars per year. The maximum number of personnel is 750 people; the total investment in this project by the Japanese company amounted to about 200 million US dollars. This plant initially produced only two models - Teana and X-Trail. As of 2012, production of Nissan Teana, Nissan X-Trail and Nissan Murano models was launched at the plant near St. Petersburg; since 2013, in Tolyatti, the new Nissan Almera.

In 2014, Datsun production in Togliatti was launched on the Granta basis, as part of a partnership agreement between the Renault-Nissan Alliance and AvtoVAZ. As of 2016, the plant in St. Petersburg produces the X-Trail, Qashqai, Pathfinder, and Murano models.

Which assembly is better to choose?

Many people are interested in whose production Nissan Qashqai is better to choose in terms of assembly. And there is no clear answer here. Both the Japanese, the British, and the Russian assembly have advantages and disadvantages for Russian car enthusiasts. So it’s worth sorting them out.

Japanese version

The Japanese assembly is good because it simply warms the soul of connoisseurs of the brand by the very fact that it was assembled in Japan by the hands of the Japanese. However, the disadvantage of such a Nissan Qashqai is that you will have to significantly overpay for adaptation, transportation and transportation across the border.

Perhaps in the future the Japanese version of the Nissan Qashqai will have a new plus if the build quality in Russia and Britain drops. After all, Japan is the country where the production of this car is located, which means that the likelihood of deterioration in build quality there is extremely low. This would cause serious damage to the brand's reputation.

English version

The British version of the Nissan Qashqai is of good quality, but as with the Japanese version, adaptation to Russian conditions will be required. You will also have to pay for the passage of the car through customs and for transportation.

It is, of course, closer to take such a Nissan Qashqai to Moscow, but in general the way to the Russian border is further than from Japan. Therefore, it is better for connoisseurs of foreign assemblies from the Far East to take a closer look, perhaps, at the Japanese assembly.

Domestic version

The Nissan Qashqai assembly carried out in the Russian Federation is best suited for most Russian car enthusiasts. In this case, some local negative factors do not affect the quality of the machine. Here too, the manufacturer makes sure that everything is assembled exactly as planned, and that the parts are of the proper quality.

Unlike the Japanese or British version, a Nissan Qashqai is assembled in Russia, where everything is already adapted for the car enthusiast from these places. The machine is adapted to climatic conditions, the characteristics of the road surface or the lack thereof. In addition, such a model, of course, will be cheaper.

Here are the costs that disappear when choosing a Russian-assembled Nissan Qashqai:

• for transportation across the border at customs;
• payment for transportation of the finished car;
• fee for adaptation to local conditions.

Moreover, the quality is no worse than that of the British or Japanese assembly version. The only thing that is, perhaps, a practical disadvantage is that the car is not best suited for European conditions, unlike the same British version. But this will only be a disadvantage for those who plan to regularly travel throughout the European Union. And even then this minus is barely noticeable.

Based on this, it is worth saying a few words separately about the Russian assembly of Nissan Qashqai. To dispel some stereotypes. The manufacturer controls the quality of the machine from start to finish. Local professionals ensure that it is a quality product suitable for local conditions. These are people who have been working in the field for several decades and know their business. It is important to understand that they will do a better job of assembling for Russian car enthusiasts than the Japanese, simply because they are better familiar with local specifics.

The Russian-assembled Nissan Qashqai is a comfortable car. The fuel tank is unified and is a reservoir with a capacity of sixty liters. This is a good volume, which allows you to use the car for traveling long distances. The interior is comfortable and ergonomic. In a word, there is nothing wrong with taking a Russian-assembled Nissan Qashqai.

Archive of Nissan models

Nissan X-Trail T31 2010

Japanese corporation Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. produces passenger cars, commercial vehicles, buses, sports boats and other products. The Nissan administration is located in Yokohama (until 2011 Tokyo). Nissan dates back to December 26, 1933, the date of the creation of its predecessor company, Jidosha Seizo Co., Ltd. In 1931, the first Nissan passenger car appeared. In June 1934, the company reformed as Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. A Datsun car, a subsidiary of Nissan, rolls off the production line in Yokohama in 1935. The mid-size model Nissan Type 70 and Nissan Type 90 buses were produced by the corporation in 1939. In 1947, the Datsun passenger car rolled off the assembly line again.

In 1951, the first Patrol SUV was produced, with a drive on both axles and a six-cylinder engine. The Datsun Bluebird was produced in August 1958. This model was the first in Japan to be equipped with a front brake booster and became a reliable and durable car for consumers. From this year, the Nissan concern begins to export its cars to the USA, and 4 years later to Europe. In 1965, the Skyline 2000GT-B model with a sporty bent was released, which became a mass car of its time. In 1966, the Nissan Corporation produced the compact class model Datsun Sunny 1000. In 1967, the Prince Royal limousine was created for the imperial family. In the mid-1990s, Nissan found itself in a difficult financial situation. In 1999, Renault acquired a controlling stake in the Japanese company. The newly elected head of Nissan, Carlos Ghosn, managed to implement his program for overcoming the crisis and the concern’s business went up.

In 1998, the automotive public became acquainted with the new Patrol GR, equipped with a six-cylinder turbodiesel engine with a displacement of 2.8 liters. In 2000, the Hypermini electric car was created, designed for two people. The same year, the ultra-small EV Hypermini goes on sale. In November 2000, the QG18DE engine powering the Bluebird Sylphy was awarded Technology of the Year. In Russia, Nissan began operating in 2004, at which time it was formed. In the summer of 2006, Nissan President Carlos Tavares signed an agreement to build a plant near St. Petersburg for the local assembly of cars. The opening of the enterprise took place in 2009; the production capacity of the plant is designed to assemble 50 thousand cars per year. In 2014, the Renault-Nissan alliance revived the Datsun brand; production of compact models Datsun On-DO and Mi-DO, based on the Lada Granta, was launched at the Tolyatti plant.

Nissan program and structure

The merger of the two most powerful giants, Nissan and Renault, at the peak of the crisis in 1999, served as an impetus for economic growth, and the corporation's ratings deservedly rose steadily. This was accompanied by new programs that were implemented on time and competently. They allowed the concern to survive the crisis with minimal losses.

The program (Nissan Production Way) is the core of the entire production process. Being a kind of set of rules for the concern’s employees, it requires that the production of each car be brought to perfection.

The NPW program prescribes studying the needs of customers and, combining them with material capabilities, modernizing production. Thanks to this program, product quality, regardless of where the manufacturing plant is located, always remains excellent, be it Spain, England, Russia or Japan itself.

The headquarters of the Nissan concern is located on the Japanese islands in Yokohama, design solutions are developed in the capital of Great Britain, and the design and implementation of new Nissan models is being carried out in the English Cranfield Scientific Research Center. The factory facilities for assembling new cars are also located in the United Kingdom, in the city of Sunderland with its seaport, which is very convenient for deliveries to the USA and European countries.

In which countries are spare parts produced?

Original Nissan spare parts are produced in Japan and England. They are also produced in those countries that have an English franchise (India and the Netherlands). However, the lion's share of all spare parts are non-original parts. They are produced in Germany, Taiwan, Belgium, Denmark, France, Japan and the Russian Federation. In terms of quality, non-original products are practically indistinguishable from original goods. However, there is quite a big difference in price. A non-original product of similar quality is usually an order of magnitude cheaper than original spare parts.