(April 2, 2010) FRANKLIN, Tenn. — The Nissan Altima was the best-selling sedan in America in March. It's the first time ever that Altima, which has been on the market since 1993, has ever earned this distinction.

Nissan reports that 32,289 Altimas were sold in March beating out such front-runners as the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry.

The Altima helped Nissan achieve a record U.S. market share of 9.7 percent in March — the highest share ever achieved in any month in the company's history. In the first quarter of 2011, Nissan recorded a 9.3 percent share, a gain of 0.3 points over the same period last year, building on the 0.4 point gain the company made in calendar year 2010.

In March, Nissan achieved sales of 121,141 units versus 95,468 units a year earlier, an increase of 26.9 percent. Nissan Division sales were up 28.4 percent for the month and also set a record for any month.  Sales of Infiniti vehicles rose 13.5 percent over the prior year and marked the 14th consecutive month of double digit sales improvement.

"Nissan had an outstanding first quarter, increasing sales and gaining market share across our refreshed product lineup," said Carlos Tavares, chairman, Nissan Americas.  "We had many success stories in the first quarter, from our redesigned products like the Nissan Altima and Rogue — to new contributors like the Juke, LEAF and Quest."