ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (Kyodo) Russia's brisk economic growth and rising purchasing power are drawing Japanese firms, most notably automakers, into the country like a magnet.
Toyota, which is building a plant in St. Petersburg with production slated to start in late 2007, is eager to exploit the quality deficiencies of Russian-designed and built vehicles. Nissan Motor Co. also will build a plant in the city and begin production in 2009, which will make it the second Japanese automaker to produce cars in Russia.
Business leaders in St. Petersburg have growing expectations that investments by the two major Japanese carmakers will help transform the nation's second-biggest city into a Russian Detroit.