- The 2025 model year could be the last for Nissan’s long-running Altima and its entry-level Versa, according to a report from Automotive News.
- With their supposed demise, consumers lose two significant options for affordable cars, with both making a strong value proposition in their segments.
- Currently, the 2023 Nissan Versa starts at $17,075, while the Altima starts at $26,825.
- It’s not official just yet — Nissan’s response for the moment is that it will continue to build its whole sedan lineup, minus the outgoing Maxima.
It’s not confirmed yet, but it looks like the sun is about to set on the Nissan Altima and Versa.
Here’s a fun and completely useless fact: The Nissan Altima and I are the same age, give or take a few months. Launched in June 1992, Nissan’s midsize sedan has been with us for three decades now. It appears the car is living on borrowed time, though, as Automotive News notes it will almost certainly roll into the history books after the 2025 model year.
It’s a similar story with the Versa, which recently earned its place as the last affordable sub-$20K car on the market, after reports that the Mitsubishi Mirage and the Kia Rio would check out in short order. Apparently, the Versa isn’t going to hold its title for very long.
Every once in a while, AutoNews will publish a future products report, in which the outlet covers what’s coming as well as the models automakers plan to drop. Insider information suggests the Altima and Versa will be discontinued in a couple years, but Nissan has not yet confirmed that report. For the time being, a company spokesperson refused to share any information at this time, which is standard procedure: Most automakers won’t comment on future product until they’re ready to put out a statement.
That said…it’s a sensible conclusion to draw. Small, affordable sedans have dropped like flies over the past few years, thanks to the nearly indomitable popularity of larger, more practical crossovers and manufacturers’ razor-thin margins on entry-level cars. Those slim or nonexistent margins, it stands to reason, aren’t enough to offset massive investments into EVs and new technologies, so out the window goes cars like the Mirage, the Rio, the Altima, the Versa, the Chevy Spark and Sonic, the Ford Fiesta and Focus, the Hyundai Accent, the Honda Fit, the Toyota Yaris…and the list goes on.
The end…and a new beginning?
What’s far less clear, for the moment, is whether Nissan will replace either of these cars. The company is working on several new electric vehicles, and one of those in the oven is supposedly a successor to the now-defunct Maxima. As it shifts its priorities toward new EVs, we should see that model emerge by 2026.
We’ll keep an eye on what’s happening, but for now, it appears the market will soon lose a couple more options for more affordable models.
