NEW YORK MOTOR SHOW: New Maxima's local future uncertain

Nissan says its eighth-generation flagship Maxima sedan is a key part of its plan to snare 10 per cent of North America's passenger car market, but its Australian subsidiary continues to rule it out for local consumption.

Speaking after its world debut at the New York motor show, Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn said the US-built Maxima will be exported to other markets.

He would not say where, but Nissan Australia's official line remains that the mid-size Altima sedan will continue to be its flagship passenger model for the foreseeable future.

Designed at Nissan’s Southern California studio, the 2016 Maxima will be built at the company's plant in Tennessee from April before going on sale in the US in June.

“You can find the roots of Maxima in many other cars but it is inspired by the GT-R," said Ghosn.

“Maxima is important for the brand because it qualifies the brand. It illustrates very well what Nissan is capable of both in terms of driving performance and all the innovation in safety and comfort.

“A lot of people associate Maxima with Nissan and Nissan with Maxima.”

Ghosn said the 2016 Maxima will top a passenger car line-up that he wants to account for a sustainable 10 per cent market share in the United States, where he expects Nissan to overtake Chevrolet in total car sales in 2015. So far this year, Nissan is outselling Chevrolet and lies a close second to Toyota.

By contrast, Nissan lies fourth in the local sales race behind Toyota, Mazda, Holden and Hyundai – with Ford and Mitsubishi right behind – in Australia, where it has officially ruled out sales of the new Maxima.

However, in an interview with motoring.com.au last year, managing director Richard Emery did not rule out the possibility of the new Maxima replacing the Altima, which forms the basis of Nissan's V8 Supercars campaign, if an export version became available.

"I think there is a place for Maxima," he said at the time. "[But] Is there a place for two cars? I don’t know.

“As the large car-medium car segment gets smaller you can’t have that much room to move with different model line-ups, I would have thought.

“So that might come down to timing; as to when the Maxima is available, if it is available and what it looks like versus what Altima is up to at the time," said Emery.

Nissan clearly has high hopes for the 2016 Maxima in the US, where a sharp starting price of $US32,410 ($A41,500) is just $1200 up on the previous generation and the Japanese brand's new flagship sedan returns to delivering distinctive design and full-blooded performance.

Although it's been significantly toned down from the edgy Sports Sedan concept shown at this year's Detroit show, the front-end of the new model is far more expressive than its predecessor's and the sill line flows into a muscular rear quarter and dramatic tail-lights. Other unique features include a floating roofline and bold black accent surrounding the side glass.

Nissan claims the next Maxima's heavily revised 3.5-litre V6 carries over 39 per cent of its components, but it is the other 61 per cent that improve power by 3.5 per cent (up 7.5 to 224kW) and fuel efficiency by 15 per cent.

Overall performance is further amped by trimming 37kg and lowering the car’s centre of gravity and improving body rigidity, says Nissan. The new Nissan sedan also benefits from new autonomous braking technology.