The Nissan Versa isn’t necessarily the best car you can buy, but it is a car, and with a base price of $16,680 it’s the least-expensive new car that you can buy in the United States. It’s also seen a massive increase in sales through the first half of this year, selling 61 percent more than it did in the first half of 2023. And yet, that probably won’t be enough to keep it off the chopping block, as Automotive News reports both the Versa and the Altima are set to be killed off after the 2025 and 2026 model years, respectively. The Sentra, however, will reportedly live on.
Now, this isn’t the first time we’ve heard similar rumors. Last year we heard exactly the same thing, and while Nissan didn’t outright deny the rumor, a spokesperson did point out that the Altima had just been refreshed for 2022, saying, “As we accelerate towards realizing Nissan’s Ambition 2030 vision we have many exciting plans in development, but we don’t have anything to share at this time.”
While Versa sales were up significantly through the first half of the year, Altima sales are down about five percent, coming in at just under 60,000 cars sold. Meanwhile, the new Toyota Camry is up about three percent, clocking in at just over 155,000 sales. From a sales perspective, the Altima definitely struggles to compete. The Versa, on the other hand, doesn’t have as much direct competition but it has beaten the Mitsubishi Mirage this year with a total of 17,812 cars sold versus 9,862.
If Automotive News is continuing to hear the same rumor that the Versa and Altima are on their way out, we’re more inclined to believe it’s actually happening. We won’t really miss the Altima, but at the same time, it’s sad to hear that yet another sub-$20,000 car is about to die off, especially since Nissan reportedly has no plans to replace the Versa and still can’t decide whether to bring back the Altima.
When asked for a comment, a spokesperson for Nissan told Automotive News that sedans “remain an important part of the company’s product strategy, providing advantages across several attributes, including cost of ownership,” and that “Nissan is committed to offering a complete lineup of vehicles that meet the needs of our customers across a variety of segments.”