}} The J31 series Teana was first introduced in February 2003 to the Japanese market as a sedan companion to the
Murano with both vehicles exclusive to Japanese Nissan dealerships called
Nissan Red Stage. It replaced the
Bluebird and
Cefiro in Japan, along with the
Laurel. It was considered one level below the
Skyline. The Teana was designed around a cosseting, homelike interior with colours and materials inspired by interior design rather than the technological style used in most cars at the time. It was introduced with an optionally available internet-based, telematics and GPS navigation system called
CarWings to Japanese drivers only. The J31 Teana follows the same chassis number pattern as the
Maxima (J30). In most of the world, the Teana was Nissan's largest front-wheel drive sedan, while the Skyline and
Fuga are built on rear-wheel drive platforms. Despite being largely unrelated to the long running
Cefiro line, Nissan marketed the Teana using the
Cefiro nameplate in Hong Kong, Singapore, Mauritius, Brunei, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Latin America, and the Caribbean while it was sold under the name of Teana in Japan, Thailand, Philippines, India, Taiwan, Malaysia, Indonesia and Mainland China. The car was marketed as the Maxima in Australia and New Zealand. It was introduced a month later to other Asian markets like Singapore. In 2004 the car arrived on European shores, replacing the
Maxima QX. Powering the Teana was either a 1998 cc, 2349 cc or 3498 cc engine matched to automatic transmissions. Power outputs vary somewhat between the different markets. Trim levels were 200JK, 230JK, 230JM and 350JM. The car was based on the
Nissan FF-L platform. In December 2005, the Teana received new headlights and taillights, chrome trimming on the bumpers, enlarged foglights, front legrests and newly designed gauges. The car was also shortened slightly, and the clear rear turn signals were replaced by amber ones. XTronic CVT was also mated to all the engines. In mainland China, the Teana was manufactured by the
Dongfeng Motor Company, a joint venture with Nissan. In Taiwan, it was manufactured by
Yulon Motor. In the neighbouring country of Pakistan, the Teana was known as the
Cefiro and was assembled in Karachi. Additionally, it was sold in India, Russia, Ukraine as well as in New Zealand and Australia where it competes with the locally produced
Mitsubishi 380 and
Toyota Aurion under the Maxima badge. The first generation Teana was also assembled in Thailand for sale in the Southeast Asian market. A restyled version was sold in South Korea as the
Renault Samsung SM7. In January 2005, Renault Samsung announced a lower-specification version of the Teana which it sold as the second generation (A34R)
Renault Samsung SM5 and, from 2008, as the
Renault Safrane. In some countries, the 200JK was not sold. This was replaced by the 230JK, basically a 230JM with less equipment. In Australia, the Maxima was sold in ST-L, Ti and Ti-L trim levels. The Ti-L trim was dropped after the facelift in 2005. In 2008, Nissan stopped production of the J31 but production continued in Thailand until 2009.
Engines and specifications The first generation Teana utilized a number of engines, namely the QR20DE, VQ23DE and a slightly detuned version of the VQ35DE. == Second generation (J32; 2008) ==