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Nissan has announced that it will build the upcoming 2007 Altima hybrid in
its Smyrna, TN assembly plant. They hope to build as many as 50,000/year of this model, which would give them a healthy
chunk of the hybrid market (estimated to be just under 225,000 vehicles next year). Price and performance have not yet
been announced. Nissan is the last of Japan’s Big 3 to enter the hybrid market, and they’re doing so by licensing
Toyota’s technology instead of developing their own. It’s probably a bit unreasonable to think that this
vehicle will make any sort of huge impact on the marketplace as a whole, but its everyday practicality and
domestic final-assembly location might be attractive to many buyers.