Nissan has reportedly dropped its limited-market Altima Hybrid for the 2012 model year, itself expected to be the last before an all-new version of the company’s midsize sedan debuts.
“ Nissan has decided to focus on those models which will remain in Nissan’s lineup for the next model year,” Nissan’s Josh Clifton told Kicking Tires.
Nissan will continue with various trim levels of its four and six-cylinder-powered Altima in both sedan and coupe formats for 2012, but the slow-selling hybrid will bite the dust. Nissan doesn’t officially break out trim sales figures, but it’s safe to say that the Hybrid was a minuscule fraction of all Altima sales last year.
Its demise should hardly come as a surprise. Limited to a handful of markets on the coasts, the Altima Hybrid used technology licensed from Toyota to achieve a less-than-impressive 33 mpg both in the city and on the highway, making it one of the least-thrifty hybrids available – and barely better, at least on the open road, than the non-hybrid Altima 2.5′s 32 mpg highway figure.
Look for an in-house-developed Altima Hybrid to be shown when the next-generation 2013 Nissan Altima debuts, likely this fall at the Los Angeles Auto Show.
The 2012 Altima lineup
Otherwise, the Altima mostly stands pat for 2012. Its new Value Package includes Bluetooth, leather wrapping around the steering wheel and gear knob, Homelink and a few other goodies on the mainstream Altima 2.5S sedan.
The coupe subs out Metallic Slate paint for a new Dark Slate shade, its only change.
References
1.’No Nissan Altima…’ view
