Nissan Is Finally Killing The Altima
Nissan is reshuffling its lineup in the United States, axing two models and adding new ones, including the Xterra.
THE BREAKDOWN
- The Altima and Rogue Plug-In Hybrid are going away.
- Nissan says the Altima is dying so that the new Sentra can live.
- The Rouge E-Power will replace the Mitsubishi-based model.
- Multiple Nissan and Infiniti body-on-frame models are coming.
Many of us were taken by surprise last December when Nissan announced the Altima would live to see the 2026 model year. It’s an aging product competing in a shrinking sedan market, and with the new Sentra now out, there’s no point in keeping both. Eight years after the current-generation model debuted, the Altima is finally going away, and it’s not the only model about to die.
Ponz Pandikuthira, senior vice president and chief product & planning officer for Nissan Americas, spoke with WardsAuto about how the company is about to reshuffle its lineup. He confirmed the Altima is dying to give the new, “grown-up” Sentra breathing room. The unsurprising news follows the axing of the entry-level Versa after the 2025 model year, while the Maxima bowed out after the 2023 model year, leaving the Sentra as the sole surviving sedan in the United States. However, the Versa lives on in other markets, where it recently switched to the next generation.
The pair of previously announced US-made electric sedans isn’t coming to market after all because Nissan is concerned there wouldn’t be enough demand. Pandikuthira projects that the situation is unlikely to change until the turn of the decade, when production costs for EVs should hopefully come down. Although not mentioned during the interview, there’s another gas-powered sedan on the way.
Debuting this winter, Japan’s next-generation Nissan Skyline will spawn a more luxurious Infiniti derivative for North America. Possibly the Q50 successor, it’s expected to combine a rear-wheel-drive layout with a manual gearbox and a twin-turbo V6 borrowed from the Z sports car. An automatic is also possible, but the company has already ruled out a CVT.
Beyond sedans, Pandikuthira said the Rogue Plug-In Hybrid is already going away, even though it just arrived for the 2026 model year. The company’s product boss explained the Mitsubishi Outlander-based model has “served its purpose” by allowing Nissan to offer a hybrid as soon as possible. It was essentially a stopgap model to bring people into showrooms until the new Rogue E-Power arrives for the 2027 model year.
Pandikuthira also touched on the Xterra and how the reborn off-road SUV will share its body-on-frame platform with as many as four other derivatives featuring combustion engines and hybrid drivetrains. Aside from the Frontier pickup truck, the underpinnings could also be used for a three-row Nissan SUV, as well as two- and three-row Infiniti SUVs. The Xterra is described as a “lifestyle vehicle” with a V6 under the hood. Still, Nissan says these body-on-frame SUVs could also get a hybrid setup for extra power and improved efficiency.
2028 Nissan Xterra teaser
Motor1's Take: There's a lot going on at Nissan these days, and not just in the U.S. Globally, 11 models will be retired, shrinking the lineup from 56 to 45 vehicles. In the future, the remaining models will be split into four categories: Heartbeat, Core, Growth, and Partner. The Xterra and Skyline are part of the Heartbeat lineup, while the Rogue E-Power and the not-for-America electric Juke are Core models.
It’s too soon to say whether the product portfolio shake-up will turn things around, but Nissan appears to be on the right path. It needs at least a couple of heavy hitters in its lineup, and the Xterra might fit the bill if the company sticks to its pledge to keep it below $40,000.
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Source: WardsAuto
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