Nissan is killing the Altima.
Well. Not today. But soon.
Ponz Pandikuthira. Head of product planning. He told WardsAuto the sedan is gone. He said it explicitly. The Altima is being scrapped so the “grown-up” Sentra can breathe.
Can stretch its legs, he called it.
That was the plan. Or was it?
Because right now. In 2025. The Altima isn’t dead. Nissan actually announced it will come back for 2026 and then again for 2027. A rep told Car and Driver they are preparing to unveil the 2027 version later this year.
“The Nissan Altima remains an important part… meeting the needs of sedan buyers.”
See? Contradiction.
One exec says goodbye. Corporate PR says see you next week.
Which do we believe? Probably the PR machine. At least until the factory doors lock for real. The mid-size sedan has been old. Ancient even. So old it was living on borrowed time. Joe Black isn’t just around the corner. He’s waiting in the lobby.
Why the confusion? Maybe the timeline got messy. Maybe they want the Sentra to eat the market share but realized nobody buys a compact sedan for the same price as a mid-size. Do they? Probably not.
Pandikuthira isn’t done talking, though. He dropped another bomb. No surge for EV sedans coming soon. Not until the end of the decade. Prices have to drop. Batteries need to get cheaper.
He mentioned the Ariya too. Canceled for 2026 in the U.S.? Its future is “under discussion.” A polite way of saying we don’t know if this SUV makes it.
The sedan world is shrinking. Two EV sedan projects already scrapped. Now the Altima hangs by a thread. Or a marketing memo.
For now, the 2026 exists. The 2027 is coming. The Sentra grows up.
Eventually the Altima will “depart.” As the executive said. Eventually.
