Nissan said it will begin producing and selling a new model of its latest Teana sedan – called the Altima in the US and Australia – in Thailand as it looks to increase exports from the country.
Thailand will become the third manufacturing base after the US and China for the latest Teana. The sedans produced in the US and China are sold locally but Nissan plans to position Thailand as base for exports which will now include Altima-badged models for Australia.
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The model will be assembled at the Nissan plant close to Bangkok and the automaker said it is aiming for 10,000 units in the first year.
Exports of previous Nissan models made in Thailand were limited largely to southeast Asian countries. At a news conference in Bangkok, chief operating officer Toshiyuki Shiga indicated Nissan is not considering shipping the sedans to Japan. He added that, with Thailand as a stronger export base, the company hopes to expand its reach, possibly to include the Middle East and Europe.
Nissan’s naming policy for various models is complex and can confuse. The outgoing Teana was also badged Maxima for some markets like the US and Australia and built in Japan, China, Thailand and Russia.
According to just-auto‘s exclusive Production Life Database (PLDB), Nissan North America’s Smyrna plant was the first facility to build this latest, fifth generation Altima (aka latest Teana). Production started in May 2012 with sales in the US, Canada and Mexico commencing the following month. Production at the Canton plant, also in Mississippi, commenced in June 2012. Exports to the Middle East followed from late 2012.
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By GlobalDataThe Altima made its global debut at the New York show in April 2012. It features styling influences from the Ellure concept revealed at the Los Angeles show in November 2010.
Nissan’s two US plants which build the Altima had their capacities raised so that they can build a combined potential 400,000 units of the car a year. The majority of this is thanks to the addition of a third shift at Smyrna.
The 2014 Altima went on sale in the US, Mexico and Canada from August 2013.
Production in Thailand was added in September 2013. There, the car is sold as the Teana but is badged Altima for export to Australia.
The Dongfeng Nissan joint venture also builds Teana badged versions in China. The current generation was announced in February 2013 and is closely related to North America’s Altima. Unlike China’s previous Teana [aka Maxima overseas], the current version is not available with V6 engines. Nissan US, too, offers only 2.5-litre I4 Altimas but Nissan Australia’s Thai built version will have a 3.5-litre V6.
A long wheelbase model exclusively for China, the Teana VIP, will be launched later in 2013.
