Autos
Nissan Revamps Altima to Take On Dearth of Detroit Sedans
- Asian automakers seen reaching 88% of U.S. midsize sedan sales
- Nissan seeks to be democratizer of technology with new models
The Nissan Altima
Photographer: Michael Noble Jr./BloombergWhen Nissan Motor Co.’s redesigned Altima flagship goes on sale this week, it will pound another nail in the coffin of sedans built by companies based in and around Detroit -- the city that invented the whole idea of family cars.
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV stopped building sedans in the U.S. two years ago. Ford Motor Co. plans to follow suit in 2020 but won’t bother to advertise sedans in the meantime. With only General Motors Co. left in Detroit still pursuing a full lineup of cars, Asian automakers have a pretty clear field and are poised to capture 88 percent of midsize car sales by 2022, up from 64 percent in 2012, according to Zohaib Rahim, a Cox Automotive analyst.