End of an Era: Nissan Altima Officially Bids Farewell

After years of speculation and a steady decline in sales, Nissan has finally pulled the plug on the Altima. The company’s Senior VP and Chief Product & Planning Officer for the Americas, Ponz Pandikuthira, confirmed the news, adding that the Rogue Plug-In Hybrid, a rebadged Mitsubishi Outlander that was always a temporary fix, is also being discontinued after just one model year.

The Altima’s death has been on the horizon since 2024, when reports gave the midsize sedan a two-year window. That time has now run out. For decades, the Altima was a common sight on American highways, especially during the ’90s and early 2000s when Nissan was riding a wave of bold design.

But the sedan couldn’t keep pace with rivals. It hasn’t been redesigned in eight years, and for 2025, it lost its variable-compression turbo engine. Sales tell the story: through 2026, Altima deliveries dropped 32%, from over 62,000 units to 42,288.

Nissan isn’t abandoning sedans entirely, it’s betting on the Sentra instead. ” Meanwhile, the company had planned two electric sedans to replace the Altima and Maxima, but slow EV adoption has pushed those plans back. “It may be closer to 2029 or 2030 before we see a resurgence in that segment,” he told Wards Auto.

As for the Rogue PHEV, it served its purpose as a stopgap until Nissan’s own Rogue E-Power hybrid arrives. “If people shopping online see that Rogue does not offer a hybrid, they will not go to the dealer,” Pandikuthira said. With its mission complete, the plug-in is now being phased out.