Nissan's assembly plant in Smyrna, Tennessee has started the production of the updated 2016 Nissan Altima, the company's best-selling passenger car in the US in 2015.
Nissan unveiled the 2016 Altima in September after providing a new design and technical upgrades.
Nissan North America Manufacturing, Supply Chain Management and Purchasingsenior vice-presidentJohn Martin said: "Altima is Nissan's bellwether vehicle in North America, so we take great pride in getting it right and continually improving.
"All of our North American teams are aware of how important the mid-size sedan segment is to this region, and having five straight years of continuous sales growth in such an intensely competitive segment has become a point of pride for us."
Compared to its predecessor, 2015 Altima, the latest version has a wide, deeply sculpted lower bumper, integrated fog lights (SR, SV and SL models) and prominent chrome-trimmed grille.
2016 Altima offers 10% improvement in coefficient of drag when compared to its predecessor, a part of which is due to addition of an active grille shutter, underfloor aero cover additions, and the new front and rear fascia, and windshield designs.
The company has produced more than 5.5 million Altimas in the two US plants in Smyrna and Canton.
The new 2016 Altima is expected to go on sale at US Nissan dealerships in November.
In addition to Altima, the Smyrna plant is also manufacturing the Rogue compact crossover that was redesigned for 2014.
Image: 2016 Altima features forward emergency braking, intelligent cruise control, blind spot warning with rear cross traffic alert. Photo: courtesy of Nissan.