Nissan announced it plans to build 50,000 hybrid-drive Altimas per year, possibly to put downward pressure on the company's Corporate Average Fleet Economy (CAFE) figures. Having all those fuel-efficient cars on their books would give Nissan a bit more leeway to put more powerful gas-hogging V8s in their sedans and (please, please) sports cars. Still, the company wants to catch up with its rivals Toyota, whose Prius has a near-insurmountable lead, and Honda, whch would be third in hybrid production if Nissan succeeds. According to AutoWeek, Nissan will likely build the Altima hybrid at its Smyrna, Tennessee, plant, though the company hasn't yet decided between that and its Canton, Mississippi plant.
Nissan Wants to Sell 50,000 Altima Hybrids a Year [Treeehugger]
Related:
More alternative energy stories [internal]