All New Altima leads in gasoline sedan segment
Nissan Korea bets high on the All New Altima midsize sedan to bolster its market share. / Courtesy of Nissan Korea
By Lee Hyo-sik
Nissan Korea’s All New Altima midsize sedan has emerged as one of the most popular gasoline engine models among imported car brands, attracting many local motorists who seek to drive foreign brand vehicles at affordable prices.
Its popularity has further increased over the past few months as diesel engine cars are blamed for exacerbating the country’s fine dust pollution, encouraging many consumers to choose the gasoline-powered cars.
The All New Altima, launched in April here, has been one of the beneficiaries from these latest trends, raising hopes that the Japanese brand will bolster its market share this year.
Nissan said it has sold more than 800 All New Altima sedans over the past three months, adding that the sales volume will increase at a faster rate for the remainder of the year. The carmaker decided not to raise the price early July when the government ended the auto consumption tax cut.
“When we unveiled the All New Altima in April, we presented our goal of making it the No. 1 gasoline engine sedan among imported brands,” a Nissan Korea official said. “Its dynamic driving performance and sleek exterior design have created a huge fan base. The vehicle is also equipped with many state-of-the-art features, offering motorists a whole new driving experience.”
The All New Altima boasts of advanced safety features, including a predictive forward collision warning system, forward emergency braking system and rear cross traffic alert.
The sedan comes in two engines: a 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine and a 3.5-liter V6 engine. The 2.5-liter engine model is priced at 29.9 million won ($26,500) and the 3.5-liter engine at 38.8 million won.
The 2.5-liter engine vehicle has a 13.3 kilometer per liter fuel economy, the highest among the imported gasoline cars with over 2,000cc engines.