Dubai, United Arab Emirates, August 9, 2011: Nissan Americas has confirmed that, beginning immediately, the U.S.-built Nissan Altima has been approved for use in New York City’s taxi cab fleet by the City’s Taxi & Limousine Commission (TLC). Currently, approximately 306 hybrid-electric (HEV) Nissan Altima units are in use as taxi cabs on New York City streets. In a rule-making meeting, TLC officials extended approval to include the non-HEV version of Altima, a top-selling sedan in the United States.
The expanded approval for Altima in New York City’s current taxi fleet is the latest TLC announcement involving Nissan. In May, Nissan was selected as the exclusive provider of the City’s next-generation “Taxi of Tomorrow,” beginning in 2013. Since Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced the selection of Nissan’s NV200, Nissan has collaborated with the City to confirm design specifications for the new taxi, and has begun preliminary vehicle engineering and production planning, as well as baseline safety testing, for a purpose-built vehicle that will be specifically tuned to the city’s streets. The Altima consistently ranks as a top-seller in its segment and the HEV version has been part of New York City’s taxi fleet since 2009. As part of the Taxi of Tomorrow program, Nissan also will work with the City and taxi owners on a pilot program to study the use of zero-emission, electric vehicles as taxis.
Yuta Yamazaki, Brand Manager at Nissan Middle East commented, “The Nissan Altima offers a strong blend of performance, style and value which has made it one of the most popular models from the Nissan line-up in the Middle East. Its reputation for durability, quality, and reliability makes the Nissan Altima a popular choice among UAE’s taxi companies, and we are pleased to see that the vehicle has been widely accepted in the New York taxi fleet as well.”
Since the Nissan Altima was reintroduced into the heart of the Nissan sedan lineup in the Middle East in 2004, the vehicle has grown substantially in size, power, technology, and in popularity and sales. The Altima lineup also expanded to include the Altima Coupe, both of which were updated for the 2010 model year.
The 2011 Altima Sedan is offered in the Middle East in two well-equipped models designed to appeal to a broad range of buyer needs and budgets: the 2.5 S CVT with standard 179-horsepower 2.5-liter in-line 4-cylinder engine, and the 3.5 SR CVT with a 270-horsepower 3.5-liter V6.
The Nissan Altima is built on Nissan’s advanced ‘D’ platform, with Vehicle Dynamic Control (VDC) now standard on all models. The 2011 Nissan Altima also offers a range of comfort and convenience features, including available Nissan Intelligent Key with Push Button Ignition, Bluetooth® Hands-free Phone System with audio streaming and RearView Monitor.
Following significant number of refinements to its exterior styling in 2010, the Nissan Altima sports a restyled hood, grille, front bumper and rear license plate finisher, and 16-inch and 17-inch aluminum-alloy wheel designs. The refreshed exterior styling embraces Altima’s distinctive and sporty design. Along with the exhilaration provided by the driver-oriented cockpit and high levels of Altima performance, the ‘entertainment factor’ of Altima’s interior has been upgraded for 2010 with a new available Bose® premium sound system with nine speakers, 4.3-inch color display, USB port with iPod® connectivity, Bluetooth® Hands-free Phone System, MP3/WMA CD-ROM playback, and RearView Monitor. Also offered is a next-generation Nissan Hard Drive Navigation System with 6.5-inch VGA color display, 9.3GB Music Box for music storage and playback, Bluetooth® Streaming Audio, DVD player and an RCA input for auxiliary audio/video connectivity.
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