By Elena Teslova
MOSCOW (AA) – The St. Petersburg Automobile Plant of Russia has started the production of cars under the brand name XCITE, the company said in a statement.
“Saint Petersburg Automobile Plant announces the launch of its own new XCITE automobile brand. XCITE is the first in-house project in the new history of the automobile plant,” it said.
The plant, formerly a Nissan production site, has produced the first batch of several thousand cars, and it is compiling a stock to begin sales in the spring of 2024, it noted.
The company said the new brand was launched "in close cooperation with international partners," without naming the partner countries.
After Russia launched its "special military operation" in Ukraine in February 2022, many international car brands left the country.