Nissan Begins Production of 2013 Altima in Mississippi; Best-Selling Nissan Has Best-in-Segment Fuel Economy of 38 mpg

CANTON, Miss., June 6, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Nissan and its Canton employees are celebrating a milestone today as the first Canton-produced fifth-generation Altima rolled off the assembly line. The Canton Vehicle Assembly Facility began producing the award-winning Altima in 2004 and since has built more than 1.1 million of Nissan's best-selling vehicle.

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This Altima "Job 1" is the latest production achievement at Canton, which currently builds the Altima on three shifts. Canton also is a global center of excellence for Nissan's body-on-frame truck production. This fall, the Frontier midsize pick-up truck and the Xterra SUV will shift production to Canton, from Nissan's Smyrna, Tenn., plant where they are built today.

"Today's successful start of production of the Nissan Altima, our top-selling vehicle, only can happen because of the support of our dedicated workforce in Canton," said Bill Krueger, vice chairman, Nissan Americas. "The Canton team builds among the highest-quality vehicles in the industry, and we are looking forward to bringing their production expertise to the next generation of this award-winning car."

The most innovative Altima yet, the 2013 model builds on its strong reputation for quality and reliability and adds new levels of innovation, fuel efficiency, dynamic performance and premium style. The Altima, which has been certified with a best-in-segment fuel economy of 38 mpg highway, begins shipping to Nissan dealers this week. It goes on sale with a manufacturer's suggested retail price of $21,500 at the end of June.

Nissan's Canton Assembly Plant, which opened in 2003, plays a central role to the growth of Mississippi's burgeoning automotive industry. Canton employs approximately 3,300 employees in its 3.5-million square-foot facility on 1,400 acres outside of Jackson, Miss. Besides the Altima, models produced at Canton include the Armada full-size SUV, Titan full-size pickup and NV commercial vehicles, with Frontier and Xterra production joining in the year's fourth quarter.

About the 2013 Nissan Altima

With the arrival in summer 2012 of the all-new fifth generation design – the most innovative Altima yet – Nissan promises to shake up the mid-size sedan segment again with the most engaging, innovative and stylish vehicle in its class. Among the 2013 Altima's many attributes are a certified best-in-segment fuel economy of 38 mpg highway (2.5-liter engine), new premium exterior styling with a strong presence and excellent aerodynamics, an upscale interior with premium materials, and an outstanding balance of ride comfort, stability and a fun-to-drive demeanor with projected best-level acceleration.

Building on Nissan's "Innovation for All" philosophy, the new Altima offers standard Bluetooth^® Hands-Free Phone System with Streaming Audio via Bluetooth^®. Also available are NissanConnect^(SM) and NissanConnect^(SM) Navigation with a suite of Bluetooth^® phone connectivity features, including hands-free text message integration, Pandora^® playback, real-time Google^® POI search and more; along with Easy Fill Tire Alert, and next-generation Safety Shield Technologies, including Blind Spot Warning (BSW), Lane Departure Warning (LDW) and Moving Object Detection (MOD) systems.

The premium interior design looks and feels a class above, with new NASA-inspired "zero-gravity" front seats, available leather appointments, and a new standard Advanced Drive-Assist™ Display in the center of the instrument cluster that integrates key information – including available navigation, text messaging notification and audio data – right in front of the driver.

Dynamic performance is provided by a choice of a redesigned 182-horsepower (est.) 2.5-liter DOHC inline 4-cylinder engine or a 270-horsepower (est.) 3.5-liter V6, with both engines matched with standard Xtronic CVT^® (Continuously Variable Transmission).

Altima's next-generation CVT reflects Nissan's more than 20 years of engineering and development leadership with its smooth, fuel-efficient design. Altima's redesigned 4-wheel independent suspension features segment-first Active Understeer Control for refined feel and responsive handling.

The 2013 Nissan Altima is offered in seven well-equipped models to meet a range of customer needs and budgets. MSRP for the 2013 Nissan Altima sedan include:

About Nissan North America
In North America, Nissan's operations include automotive styling, engineering, consumer and corporate financing, sales and marketing, distribution and manufacturing. Nissan is dedicated to improving the environment under the Nissan Green Program and has been recognized as an ENERGY STAR® Partner of the Year in 2010, 2011, and 2012 by the U.S Environmental Protection Agency. More information on Nissan in North America and the complete line of Nissan and Infiniti vehicles can be found online at www.NissanUSA.com and www.InfinitiUSA.com.

SOURCE Nissan North America