McLaren MP4-12C Heads To Abu Dhabi’s Yas Marina Circuit: Video

Nissan’s 545-Horsepower Juke-R Crossover Hits The Ice: Video

2013 Kia Rondo Spy Shots
BMW Appoints Karim Habib As New Design Boss

2013 Nissan GT-R Crashes On The Nürburgring

2014 BMW X5 Spy Shots
Dallara Modifying INDY DW12 Rear Underwing Supports For Safety

Ferrari Pays Tribute To The Mille Miglia With 140 Cars: Video

2013 Volkswagen Golf GTI (MkVII) Spy Shots

Fuel crunch pushes Nissan to build more cars, fewer pickups

Nelson Ireson

Editor BIO

Nelson is an Editor at High Gear Media focusing on reviewing cars and covering the hottest topics in luxury and performance cars, car culture, and... More

LATEST ARTICLE
2014 BMW X5 Spy Shots
A prototype for the upcoming third-generation BMW X5 has been captured in testing once again, this... Read More

#3LEADERBOARD RANK
5429ARTICLES CONTRIBUTED
205COMMENTS POSTED

914 views Jun 9, 2008

Follow Nelson

Add to circle

Fuel crunch pushes Nissan to build more cars, fewer pickups

Enlarge Photo

Although Nissan hasn't been as hard-hit by the downturn in the American car market as the domestic manufacturers, it is still moving to shift production from its Titan and Armada to the Altima sedan. Nissan's May sales were up 8.4% across all models, but the Titan and Armada dropped over 50% each while the Altima climbed 43%.

The shift is a vivid illustration of how the average American car shopper's tastes have changed since fuel prices started approaching, and in some places exceeding $4 per gallon. Sales of the Altima rose to 34,428 units in May, while the Titan pickup and Armada full-size SUV sold less than 3,500 units combined. The change to more Altima production is expected to yield an additional 2,000 cars monthly.

By pulling a shift from its Canton, Mississippi plant's Titan and Armada pickup/SUV production line and adding a shift to the Altima line at the same plant Nissan hopes to meet the shifting demand without cutting any jobs, reports Automotive News. The company had already adjusted its schedule to trim the two shiftss work weeks from 40 hours to 36 hours. With the reduction to one shift, the work week will return to 40 hours.