Nissan has very high hopes for the newly introduced 2013 Altima sedan, the first series production models of which rolled off the assembly line in Smyrna, Tennessee, on May 15, and in Canton, Mississippi, on June 6.
The Japanese company not only wants to surpass last year’s sales of 295,790 Altimas in the States, which landed it in second place in the mid-size segment, some 42,000 units behind Toyota’s best-selling Camry, but also expand its reach to more global markets.
“Altima is our highest volume vehicle,” says Nissan’s Director of Export Operations Jerry Brickett. “And as we look to the future we are going to look to expand to ship from 40 countries to maybe closer to 100 countries for this vehicle.”
Nissan points out that it has set an aggressive goal to triple the number of exported Altimas in the next two to three years. Brickett believes that the biggest opportunity for growth for the Altima is in Mexico, Canada and the Middle East.
“For us we have the right product at the right time for those growing markets, and it will really help to grow the brand recognition with a strong product like Altima,” says Brickett.
Nissan added that it plans to build more than 300,000 Altimas at its two U.S. plants in the next year to meet the demand.
“Already our demand this year for the new Altima is higher than what we can supply, so we know the potential is there,” said Brickett. “It could truly be a global brand for Nissan,” he added.
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