Toyota begins production of compact SUV in Russia

Toyota Motor Corp has started production of the RAV4 compact SUV (sport utility vehicle) at its Saint Petersburg plant, the company's production base in Russia.

In 2015, Toyota's sales volume in Russia decreased by 39% on a year-over-year basis to 98,100 units. The sales volume in the period from January to July 2016 is 51,300 units, which is a 9% decrease from the corresponding period in 2015.

The company aims to revitalize sales in Russia by locally producing the RAV4, its best selling vehicle in Russia. Also, the RAV4 will be exported to Kazakhstan and Belarus.

At the Saint Petersburg plant, Toyota started production of the "Camry" sedan in 2007. For the production of the RAV4, the company increased the production capacity of the plant from 50,000 to 100,000 units per year by investing 9.7 billion rubles. The increment (50,000 units) is the production capacity for the RAV4. The company plans to newly employ about 800 workers.

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