Nissan Cima

Nissan Cima
2012 Nissan Cima Hybrid VIP (HGY51, Japan)
Overview
ManufacturerNissan
Also called
Production
  • 1988–2010
  • 2012–2022
AssemblyJapan: Kaminokawa, Tochigi
Body and chassis
Class
Body style
  • 4-door hardtop sedan (1988–1991)
  • 4-door sedan (1991–2022)
Nissan Cima logo
Nissan Cima logo

The Nissan Cima (Japanese: 日産・シーマ, Nissan Shīma) is a luxury sedan manufactured and marketed by Nissan across five generations for the Japanese market — and for three generations as the Infiniti Q45 internationally.

The Cima nameplate derived from Spanish for "summit" or "top." Earlier generations featured a hood ornament with an image of an acanthus leaf that gave the Nissan Laurel its name. The acanthus leaf was commonly used by classical Greeks to make a wreath for use as a crown — notable, as the Cima's chief competitor in the Japanese Domestic market was the Toyota Crown.

The Cima in its first two generations was a more luxurious and larger version of the Cedric and Gloria, with the Cima sharing its V8 engine with the earlier flagship President, Nissan's competitor with the Toyota Century. The Cima was introduced in 1988, based on an elongated Cedric/Gloria chassis. With its sales success, about 64,000 units sold the first year and 120,000 in four years, the Cima became a symbol of the "bubble economy".

The Cedric Cima was marketed at Nissan Store, while the Gloria Cima was marketed at Nissan Prince Stores. Later generations of the Cima shared the same platform as the President, with the Cima being a shorter version, thereby allowing Nissan to continue offering the Cima at Nissan Prince Store locations. The last three Cima generations were marketed in the United States as the Infiniti Q45. The Q45 was discontinued after 2006, however the Cima and the President continued in production until August 2010, leaving the Fuga to become the flagship for the Infiniti line. April 2012, the Cima nameplate was resurrected, and resumed "flagship" status in Japan as a longer wheelbase version of the Fuga Hybrid.

In January 2021, Nissan considered canceling the Cima again, with production being halted at the end of 2020. The Nissan Japan website still listed it as available for new orders with a hybrid powertrain only, in three trim levels.[1] According to the Nissan Factory website at Tochigi, Cima production was started up again in October 2021,[2] only to be discontinued for the third and final time in 2022.

  1. ^ administrator (2021-01-15). "日産シルフィ/シーマが生産終了と報道。日産セダンはV37スカイラインとフーガの2車種のみ…更に2021年9月には新型エクストレイル登場との噂" [Nissan Sylphy / Cima reportedly discontinued]. Creative Trend (in Japanese). Retrieved 2021-01-15.
  2. ^ "Vehicles currently produced". Nissan Tochigi Plant. Nissan. Retrieved 18 December 2021.