Nissan and its Chinese partner Dongfeng Motors lifted the veils off their new local market Teana sedan during a press conference in China on Tuesday in front of more than 1,000 (!) journalists and dealers from all over the country.
If the mid-size sedan looks eerily familiar, it's because the Teana is the same car as the North American Altima with some barely noticeable changes such as the added chrome strips on the lower sections of the doors and rear bumper, and the front grilles, the white markers on the headlamps and the revised tail light graphics.
The Teana will be manufactured at Dongfeng Nissan’s plant in Xiangyang, Hubei province, and is set to go on sale in the country in late March. It will be offered with Nissan's latest 182hp 2.5-liter four-cylinder petrol engine matched to an Xtronic CVT (Continuous Variable Transmission).
According Nissan, the previous generations of the Teana achieved more than 700,000 sales in China since its introduction locally in 2004, a success the company believes will continue with the new model.
“It doesn’t get any more important than this. This is the flagship of the Nissan range in China. This represents everything that we are about,” said Nissan Executive Vice President Andy Palmer, at the launch in Guangzhou.
“We are confident because the new generation Teana is a stronger product," said Dongfeng Nissan Vice President Ren Yong. "It contains even more of our efforts and we’ve done thorough preparations for it. We hope that with the launch the new Teana, it will bring momentum to dealers and for our sales. It will also allow customers to experience the benefits of the new Teana and return us to a position of strength.”