Nissan launches the new Pathfinder at the Moscow Motor Show
Nissan has just launched the new Pathfinder range, which includes the first-ever Russian-manufactured petrol-electric hybrid. Also at the Moscow Motor Show, making their Russia debuts, are the new Nissan Juke and new Nissan GT-R NISMO.
Nissan's all-new fourth-generation Pathfinder will be available with a standard 3.5-litre petrol engine as well as a 2.5-litre hybrid engine. Equipped with an intelligent 4x4 system and the latest generation X-tronic transmission, the Pathfinder will have all-road capabilities in any condition in an all-new refined and modernised design.
Production of Pathfinder's hybrid engine variant will make the St. Petersburg plant Russia's first to produce a hybrid. The plant currently builds the Teana, Murano and X-Trail, and Qashqai will be added in 2015.
Sentra represents development collaboration with Alliance partner AvtoVAZ, the country's largest automaker, and will be built at the AvtoVAZ plant in Izhevsk. The new C-segment sedan will be available with a 1.6L gasoline engine, which can be equipped with two transmissions - 5-speed manual or X-tronic. The new Sentra has modern design with high quality materials, and high ground clearance coupled with a comfortable suspension making it ideal for all Russian road conditions.
Nissan also produces vehicles at the AvtoVAZ plant in Togliatti – which is already producing the Nissan Almera and Datsun On-do. By the beginning of next year, two Datsun - including the Datsun Mi-do which also premiered as the Moscow Motor Show - and three Nissan models will be in production at AvtoVAZ facilities.
Russia also is the only market in the world where Nissan Motor Co. sells all three of its brands - Nissan, Infiniti and Datsun - as well as having strong collaboration with Alliance partners Renault and AvtoVAZ through joint manufacturing initiatives. Attending the Moscow Motor Show today, Paul Willcox, chairman of Nissan's operations in Europe, said: "Nissan already has a strong presence in Russia, and we're committed to increasing that local presence through increased Russian design, engineering and production so that we can make the cars that Russia's drivers want and need, while boosting jobs and the wider Russian economy. Innovative and accessible Russia-built vehicles like the Pathfinder and Sentra demonstrate that our commitment to Russian drivers has never been stronger."
Being born and brought up in a family that has been a part of the Automotive industry for over seven decades, Rachit has cars in his blood. Four wheelers are his childhood love, and he has grown up playing with bolts and spanners. To add more value to this passion, he studied automobile engineering and even karted at National level competitions.
Soon after that, he got into motoring journalism- where began the process of testing and evaluating cars. He has driven a wide range of cars beginning from Tata Nano to the Aston Martins, most of the cars that are currently sold in the Indian car market. Apart from this, he has also done many long road trips, and shall continue to do so. Rachit was one of the first journalists to take a Nano across the Golden Quadrilateral.
