Nissan drops the Altima Hybrid for the 2012 model year

While many automakers are striving to offer more hybrid models it seems surprising that Nissan would discontinue one but since being introduced in 2007, sales of the Altima Hybrid have been awful – mostly due to the fact that the trimline has very limited availability. If you are reading this and thinking “I didn’t know that they sold an Altima Hybrid”, the odds are good that you live in a state with less strict emission standards as Nissan only sold the Altima Hybrid in states that have similar emission laws to those in California – like New York, New Jersey, Maryland and various locations in New England.

The Nissan Altima has remained relatively unchanged since its introduction, with this mid-sized hybrid sedan offering around 33mpg with the use of Toyota’s Synergy Drive technology. Even though the Altima was quite a bit cheaper than competition like the Ford Fusion, the Fusion’s 39mpg combined dwarfs the Altima’s 33mpg and when combined with the limited availability to the Nissan hybrid, the Fusion Hybrid flourishes while the Altima Hybrid will be no more after the 2011 model year.

The good news is that if you really want to get your hands on a Nissan Altima Hybrid, there are lots of them sitting on lots in the areas where they are sold and Nissan plans to continue selling these models until the current stock is exhausted. Considering how slow sales have been of the Altima Hybrid, there could be plenty of time left for you to head to the East Coast or California to get ahold of one of the last units.

Source: Kicking Tires

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