Nissan Heads To Build More Altimas And Fewer Trucks
Nissan Motor Company is likely to make work shifts at its North American car and truck plant in Canton, Mississippi to boost up the production of Altima cars while reducing the production of pickup trucks and sports utility vehicles.
The dramatic drop in sales of pickup trucks and SUVs and strong increasing demand for the Altima mid-size sedan in the U.S. market has been the reason behind the move, as said by the company officials.
The high gasoline prices and declining consumer confidence has been the prime cause for the buyers distraction from high-margin trucks and SUVs to cheaper and more fuel-efficient cars.
The automaker will add a third work shift to the Altima production line at the plant in September and will drop one of two shifts from the Titan pickup truck and Armada SUV line late this month at the same plant.
Reportedly, Altima sales rose 43.6 percent in May to 34,428 units, whereas Titan sales fell 55.8 percent to 2,163 units and Armada sales dropped 52.1 percent to 1,212 for the month.
Apart from the Canton plant, its Smyrna, Tennessee factory also builds the Altima sedan for the U.S market along with Coupe and Hybrid. But, the production at this plant will not be altered as it is heading to launch Nissan’s new generation Maxima sedan.
