The Nissan Altima gasoline-electric hybrid car will be manufactured at Nissan's manufacturing plant in Smyrna, Tenn., beginning in 2006, it was announced last week.

The hybrid will be a 2007 model. The car can be powered by either the gasoline engine, the electric motor or both.

Dan Gaudette, Nissan senior vice president of North American Manufacturing and Quality Assurance, made the announcement along with Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen and Economic & Community Development Commissioner Matt Kisber before the company's Tier I suppliers who are holding their annual quality meeting.

Nissan will invest $10.4 million for additional equipment and minor modifications at the Smyrna plant to accommodate the hybrid. No square footage will be added and some employees will undergo training to help build the vehicle.

In helping Gaudette make the announcement, Governor Bredesen welcomed the news of continuing growth by a company that has called Tennessee home since its 1980 groundbreaking.

Nissan has invested over $4.2 billion in its three U.S. manufacturing facilities. The Smyrna, Tenn., plant builds Nissan Maxima sports sedans, Nissan Xterra sport utility vehicles, Nissan Frontier mid-size pickup trucks, Nissan Altima mid-size sedans and the Nissan Pathfinder mid-size SUV. The Canton, Miss., plant builds the Nissan Quest minivan, Titan full-size pick-up trucks, the Armada full-size SUV, the Infiniti QX56 full-size luxury SUV and additional Altima sedans. The Decherd, Tenn. Powertrain Assembly Plant machines components and assembles transaxles and all the vehicle engines (a 4-cylinder, two 6-cylinder and an 8-cylinder) for both of Nissan's U.S. automotive manufacturing plants. In the spring of 2006 the plant will begin forging one million crankshafts annually.

In North America, Nissan's operations include automotive styling, engineering, consumer and corporate financing, sales and marketing, distribution and manufacturing. More information on Nissan and the complete line of Nissan and Infiniti vehicles in the United States can be found online at www.NissanUSA.com and www.infiniti.com.