Last summer, Nissan announced that the hybrid version of its popular Altima sedan would be discontinued. This week, the carmaker confirmed that it would be bringing the car back for 2014 with an all-new Nissan-designed gas engine, electric motor, and continuously variable transmission.
AutoNews reports that Nissan may be planning to reintroduce the Altima Hybrid as early as next year—this time with a hybrid powertrain that was developed in-house.
Nissan has announced that it will stop selling its Altima Hybrid after the 2011 model year. The car served as Nissan's first and only hybrid since its release in 2007, but has only ever been available in the nine states.
Despite reports to the contrary, Nissan is not anti-hybrid. In fact, the Nissan Altima Hybrid is arguably has just the right combination of power, style and fuel economy to be a mainstream hit. So why isn’t the Altima Hybrid—with its compelling combo of power, handling, style, and fuel economy—well known from coast-to-coast?
Nissan plans to infuse hybrid technology into their uplevel product line, Infiniti. The idea is to utilize the same strategy Toyota took with their luxury Lexus division. It will allow Infiniti to continue producing high-performance premium automobiles while reducing emissions and increasing fuel economy in comparison to their gas-powered counterparts.
