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Nissan Altima To Retire, Just Like Chevy Malibu

Two more sedan models are on the chopping block in a market dominated by crossovers, pickups, and SUVs, as Nissan prepares to drop the Nissan Altima and the Nissan Versa in the next year or two, leaving it with only one sedan in its lineup.

The move to get rid of the Nissan Altima and Nissan Versa resembles GM’s decision to end production of the Chevy Malibu after the 2025 model year, which also further thins the ranks of the most affordable Nissan vehicles in North America, Automotive News reports.

Rear three-quarters view of the 2024 Nissan Altima SR.

The Nissan Maxima sedan was retired in summer 2023 as the start of the automaker’s push to eliminate gas-powered cars from its lineup. The 2025 Nissan Versa will be the nameplate’s final model year, with sources indicating that no follow-up generation will be launched. With a $17,245 price tag, the Versa is the cheapest new car currently offered in the U.S.

So far, Nissan has not decided if it will launch a new – probably hybrid or EV – Nissan Altima, but the current generation will be dropped after the 2026 model year. Once the Versa and Altima are eliminated, the Nissan Sentra will be the only remaining sedan from the automaker in the U.S. Nevertheless, sedans are “an important part of the company’s product strategy, providing advantages across several attributes, including cost” according to Brian Brockman, a Nissan spokesman.

Like the Nissan Altima and the Chevy Malibu, sedans from other automakers are also being discontinued. The Subaru Legacy, a rival to the Malibu, will no longer be offered after the 2025 model year. The midsize sedan market is rapidly shrinking, with only the Honda Accord, the Hyundai Sonata, the Kia K5 and the Toyota Camry slated to remain in production for the time being.

Production of the Chevy Malibu sedan will end at the GM Fairfax Assembly plant in Kansas in autumn 2024 to free up the assembly lines for the next-generation all-electric Chevy Bolt EV. Making the final model year even shorter, the start of regular production (SORP) for the vehicle was pushed back for a second time to Thursday, July 18th, 2024.

Regarding the last Nissan sedan that will remain in production once the Nissan Altima is retired, the Sentra, Edmunds analyst Ivan Drury remarked that it is “a good catchall model to maintain a presence in the sedan market” and with its medium size and price it represents “sort of the Goldilocks within Nissan’s sedans.”

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Comments

  1. The Volkswagen Jetta sedan is still available but not mentioned in the article. It looks and feels more like a midsize model than a compact. But the way car companies are going, the Jetta will probably also be discontinued soon as car companies force consumers to purchase plastic cladded 5 door hatchback station wagons on tippy toes marketed as crossovers.

    Reply
    1. Given the Passat was given the axe, I wouldn’t be shocked either. And the Arteon is as rare as a McLaren so I doubt that car will stick around much longer. But I wouldn’t discount the Koreans. Kia and Hyundai have excellent sedans.

      Reply
  2. Still doesn’t make it right to kill the only sedan left.

    Reply
  3. The manufacturers continue the push to drive out anything that doesn’t make them a ton of money while refusing to see the millions of people out there who still want a lower priced SEDAN.

    Let me be very clear. I hate Toyota with a passion. I think as a company, they are terrible. The products are average at best, but the company sucks. I also hate SUV’s of any brand. I refuse to buy one and yes I’ve had numerous SUV’s in the past. So don’t try to sell me on what you feel are the “merits” of an SUV. I like cars and prefer cars. Period. So all this time, I’ve done my best to support an American brand while buying what I needed at the time or what I want and works for me. So far, Ford/Lincoln is out and no longer brands I will consider under any circumstances. If GM follows, then it will be up to the Chrysler brands. If both GM and Chrysler brands give me and all the sedan buyers the middle finger like Ford did, then my time will have come where I may need to swallow quite hard and go to Honda or Toyota. Yes, my dislike of SUV’s is higher than my dislike of Japanese brands.

    In the end, at least I can hold my head up high and proclaim that I truly tried.

    Reply
    1. Buy yout next sedan as used. People will trade in their old sedans for a new SUV.

      Reply
    2. Suddenly, I don’t feel so alone. (Don’t get me started on G Wagons.) I always wondered what would have happened to the US industry if they had not abandoned affordable full-size and mid-size rear-
      wheel-drive sedans. We might not be flooded with poor handling, jacked up eyesores as 50% of out traffic.

      Reply
      1. Nissan is undecided on the next generation Altima yet, if it continues past 2026 it will be hybrid as stated in the autonews article you source. Your headline implies that the decision is already made, but you bury that detail. Bad journalism.

        Reply
        1. They need to revive and update their incarnation of the Nissan Altima Hybrid introduced around 2007 and ended near 2012 .

          Reply
  4. They are leaving the sedan market to the Japanese and Koreans.
    Anything on the lower price end from gm is made in China or Korea and probably mostly designed there.

    Reply
  5. Big mistake Nissan. Not everyone desires a style and design starved SUV or truck of any flavor. Times have changed but I’ll always miss the freedom of selection not so long ago when high styled Detroit cars ruled the road. Yet another sad day for all auto/car makers.

    Reply
  6. Not everybody like SUV´s ot crossovers or is willing to buy one no matter what. That´s my case and I will buy a sedan for whoever sells me one (new or used) but there´s no human power that´s going to make me buy a SUV or a crossover for the simple reason that I don´t like them.

    Reply
  7. GM never going back to sedan market I think ford will with mustang . AWD hybrid probably . You’ll see new truck or cross over ev before seeing a sedan . I think the Camaro will be like mach e was well

    Reply
    1. GM can profit from bargin bin Trax and Envista yet can’t not Malibu? Younger people like sedans w/Accord and Civic as examples.

      GM could easily borrow Regal or even Lacrosse from China, and just design a unique facia. Using Lacrosse would create a segment buster boosting sales.
      Malibu turns a profit. We all know GM would continue using D2XX platform which is already paid for. This would be more profitable than Nox EV.

      Reply
      1. Yes they do. I see lots of younger people driving around in the “sexy” looking Toyota and Honda sedans.

        Reply
  8. I remember when domestic automakers shunned the “millions” of us that wanted hatches and small SUVs and would only produce sedans, trucks and giant SUVs. There is no market for those vehicles was the mantra, so we had to rely on European and Asian products. We were considered whiners! Now the economic tables have turned and look who is whining now.

    Reply
    1. Yes! And, by not building small CUVs, GM killed Opel. Mokka wasn’t enough. Imagine how Envista and Trax would have sold in Europe which is w/o joint ventures like China?
      I don’t like SUVS/CUVs. Trax, a boosted wagon, and Envista, a boosted sedan, are in, but I’m not driving a 3 cylinder. My only option is Civic or Mazda. Most crossovers loom goofy.Honda HR-V is nice but reminds me of a compact car

      Reply
  9. a big mistake let people choose what they want.

    Reply
    1. They have…. Just not sedans.

      Reply
    2. They are in the business of making money. The people have spoken, no one is buying sedans to make them profitable. Blame yourselves, not the automaker. If they sold, they would keep making them. This isn’t a mistake as you and a few others have said, but a smart move to better allocate expenses to better improve their ROI.

      Reply
  10. Something for GM to brag about!!!!! We canceled ours FIRST. Industry leading!!!!

    Reply
  11. I have leased 5 Altimas in a row. This made sense as a retiree to have no worries towards big expenses. I chose the Altima (been worry free) after keeping my favorite car the 1988 Maxima (5 speed clutch) Sedan for 25 years The Altima got decent mpg and was a heavier vehicle with great acceleration. The 2021 model being my favorite. I for one hope they continue this model just to give the loyal Nissan (Datsun!) customer at least a couple of “CAR” choices. How bout it?

    Reply
  12. Well atleast now you can’t just blame the Americans for this. More sales for Honda, Toyota, and the Koreans.

    Reply
  13. And when the economy crashes, probably very soon at the rate we’re headed, all will be crying for sympathy. And get none from me. The Chinese will slide right in. Automakers are blind as bats, just like the 1980s all over again.

    Reply
  14. Didn’t GM Pres Mark Reuss go n record stating there was a new gen of the bu in the works? GM has a history of changing horses midstream. If indeed the Bu is dead, it would be interesting to hear GM management’s logic.

    With the slowing demand and now back-pedaling on EV’s, which model is now more critical to GM’s long term success – a new Bu or new Bolt? I say the Bu.

    Reply
  15. I have a 2017 Nissan Altima and I love it! I do not like SUVs like the rogue I live my sedan. I guess when I’m ready to get a new car it will be a Sentra I was thinking about that anyway. I will not buy a hybrid. Nissan you are making a big mistake getting rid of the Altima

    Reply
  16. The car might retire. But the Big Altima Energy still lives on to its entire lineup along with inifiniti.

    Reply
  17. Let’s be honest. Sedans were only big in the US. In other countries hatchbacks were king. The Trax is really just a hatch back car. Its not really a SUV you can call it what you want. Look back in the 40’s and 50’s cars were basically high riding vehicles. Sedans gained popularity because of gas mileage. Now that larger more spacious and easier to get in vehicles get similiar mileage sedans are less needed. We as a society may go back to them someday but people like be to easy get into a vehicle and haul stuff.

    Reply
  18. This BREAKS MY HEART! I’m on my 3rd ALTIMA, these cars are so freaking amazing & they LAST FOREVER if you keep them maintained… my most favorite vehicle I’ve ever owned & I’ve had a LOT! Every year of Altima I’ve ever had (2005, 2010 & 2014 current) have all been reliable, excellent machines! I’m deeply saddened by this; I was really hoping my next car would be the NEWEST ALTIMA… dream shattered😢

    Reply
    1. How do you know that they “LAST FOREVER” when you part with them every 5 years?

      Reply
  19. Keep the Nissan Altima and the V6 engine it came with. It saved on gas mileage and its good family car. I love the it has now. Would like just a bit more space inside and it would be perfect.

    Reply
  20. In 40 years of driving, I have only owned sedans, I drove domestic for years, and they went away. Now the Japanese sedans are going away. This is not right. As an American, I WANT CHOICE.

    Reply
  21. As stupid is as stupid does! These car manufacturers just copy and paste from each other copying designs and trends and fads which is severely limiting our choices and quickly turning the auto industry into a sad joke hence its term malaise era II. Most people I know have a sedan or two in the stable as a second car or college kids vehicle that doesn’t break the bank. While I can understand killing off really slow selling sedans like the Maxima or Kia Cadenza eliminating better selling mid sizers like the Altima or Malibu seem very short sighted. Its funny but many of the customers at my buddy’s dealership say they were either talked into a CUV or told they couldn’t get sedans in and felt forced into buying one. Others say they didn’t need one but figured everybody is buying them so just wanted to keep up with the neighbors.

    Reply
  22. The reason sedans are going away is simple CAFE ( corporate average fuel economy). The fuel economy standards for sedans are so stringent that a smart car would have trouble passing them. The government provided a LOOPHOLE that allowed SUVs to go there fuel drinking ways. In1998, the Lincoln Navigator made its debut. On the mull Rooney ( sticker) it said farm implement ( perfect for Green Acres). The purpose of CAFE was to save fuel, but because of the loophole, We burned more gas than ever.

    Reply

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