Photo: Nissan
Hyundai rocked the affordable midsize sedan segment three years ago when it launched the Sonata sedan. Supply has been so high that the Korean automaker has placed a cap on fleet customer sale in order to better cater to more lucrative retail segment.
During the first quarter of the 2012, Toyota still managed to keep its sale crown in the US, but only just, as the now old Nissan Altima came an uncomfortably close second.
At the New York Auto Show, Nissan unveiled a brand new Altima, which will hit the market later this year. But instead of targeting the Toyota Camry customers with its design, Nissan used the Sonata as a reference point.
“Clearly, we referenced the Sonata when we were going through the design process,” Nissan’s executive vice president-global planning Andy Palmer said. “We even delayed development by a short amount just to check that the (new Altima’s) proportions were right, the (package) was right (and that) the product overall was right.”
However, it’s still the Camry that they want to defeat, and “the target market is, relatively speaking, conservative,” Palmer says. The American midsize sedan buyer is “clearly looking for a vehicle with elegance but not so showy.”
Source: Wards Auto
At the New York Auto Show, Nissan unveiled a brand new Altima, which will hit the market later this year. But instead of targeting the Toyota Camry customers with its design, Nissan used the Sonata as a reference point.
“Clearly, we referenced the Sonata when we were going through the design process,” Nissan’s executive vice president-global planning Andy Palmer said. “We even delayed development by a short amount just to check that the (new Altima’s) proportions were right, the (package) was right (and that) the product overall was right.”
However, it’s still the Camry that they want to defeat, and “the target market is, relatively speaking, conservative,” Palmer says. The American midsize sedan buyer is “clearly looking for a vehicle with elegance but not so showy.”
Source: Wards Auto
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