Hybrid Car Review

Nissan will begin a third shift at their Canton, MS plant to put more Altimas on the road. Nissan sold 34,428 Altima Sedan, Hybrid and Coupes in the month of May. That was a 38.3% increase from the previous year.

Concerns about high gas prices are driving the sales of smaller, more fuel efficient cars in the US and the Altima has been very popular. There are some experts who pick the Altima Hybrid over the Camry Hybrid, but there are some limitations.

Because Nissan has not developed their own hybrid system, yet, they rely on the Toyota Hybrid Synergy Drive in the 2008 Hybrid Altima. And because they (reportedly) lose money on each hybrid they sell, they limit sales of the 2008 Altima Hybrid to only eight states. Those eight states happen to have the strictest guidelines in emissions.

"With flexibility built into our systems, we’re able to quickly adapt to the changing landscape of the marketplace," said Bill Krueger, senior vice president of Manufacturing, Purchasing, Supply Chain Management, and Total Customer Satisfaction for the Americas at Nissan North America, Inc. "Nissan Altima is extremely popular with customers that demand durability, quality and fuel-efficiency and our systems are well designed to meet that growing demand."

To make more room for the Altima production, the Canton truck system will be reduced to one shift (again, probably because of the high gas prices). The shift in production will begin at the end of June and will be in full gear by the beginning of September. The shift will allow them to produce 2,000 more a month.

At the powertrain assembly plant in Decherd, Tenn., work schedules will be adjusted to meet the revised production demand.