The Nissan Altima Is Dead And It's Taking The Rogue PHEV With It

The Nissan Altima may be dead, but we'll always have the memes.

Nissan Americas Chief Product & Planning Officer Ponz Pandikuthira broke the news in an interview with Wards Auto, revealing that both the Altima and the newly minted Rogue Plug-In Hybrid are headed for the grave as the company trims the dead weight from its lineup.

The news follows Nissan’s earlier announcement that it would kill 11 models under its “Mobility Intelligence for Everyday Life” strategy. At the time, the company kept the casualty list vague, saying only that “low-performing models” would be cut so investment could be redirected toward growth areas.

Pandikuthira told Wards Auto that the “Altima will soon depart, since the new, more ‘grown-up’ Sentra is intended to satisfy Nissan’s remaining sedan demand.”

The Altima sedan follows the Maxima and the Versa to the grave as Nissan clearly no longer sees a reason to keep multiple traditional sedans fighting for a shrinking pool of buyers. "We had planned two EV sedans for the space occupied by Altima and Maxima, but EV volume hasn’t taken off yet. It may be closer to 2029 or 2030 before we see a resurgence in that segment," he added.

When AutoGuide reached out for comment, Nissan told us the Altima remains an important part of its lineup. "We continue to see strong customer interest, and later this year we will introduce a 2027 Model Year [Altima]," said Kevin Raftery, Nissan North America's Senior Manager, Brand & Product Communications.

"Nissan is committed to the sedan segment, offering customers stylish, affordable cars equipped with convenient, entertaining, and safety-enhancing technologies. The all-new 2026 Nissan Sentra is a great example of this approach. We continue to enhance and refresh our model line, with exciting plans in development, but we don’t have anything further to share at this time."

Any changes to the Altima's status aren't likely to refelect until at least the 2028 model year at the earliest.

Nissan sold more than 200,000 Altimas annually in the United States as recently as 2019, but that fell to 92,809 units last year. Through the first six months of 2026, dealers moved 42,288 Altimas, a 31.9 percent decline that puts the car on pace for around 84,600 units for the full year.

The Sentra isn't exactly setting the world on fire either. Nissan moved 75,549 Sentras through June, down 11.7 percent compared to the same period last year—still comfortably ahead of the Altima.

The Rogue Plug-In Hybrid— a badge-engineered Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV—is also getting cut. Pandikuthira was frank about why it existed in the first place and why it's leaving so quickly. “We did that car for a very specific reason, to bring it to market as soon as possible to see what having a hybrid in the lineup would do for overall demand,” Pandikuthira said.

“If people shopping online see that Rogue does not offer a hybrid, they will not go to the dealer.”

The Rogue PHEV has apparently served that purpose, and Nissan will replace it shortly with the 2027 Rogue e-Power. Pandikuthira said the upcoming crossover will offer a “very attractive price point with good fuel economy.”

The Rogue's e-Power is an extended-range electric vehicle that uses an onboard combustion engine to charge the battery, which powers the motors in each wheel. Pandikuthira thinks shoppers will "love the electric driving experience without having to worry about plugging it in."

AutoGuide had a chance to sample Nissan's third-generation e-Power drivetrain earlier this year, and we came away generally impressed with its mostly quiet driving experience and instant, electric torque acceleration.

Become an AutoGuide insider. Get the latest from the automotive world first by subscribing to our newsletter here.