What!? Nissan Titan full-size pickup may never come back to the North American market no matter what the future powertrain may be. The Nissan Frontier may get an electrified powertrain. The rugged Nissan Xterra 4×4 SUV is coming back.
Nissan executive – Ponz Pandikuthira – shares some future Nissan truck and SUV news with Motor Trend’s “The Inevitable” podcast. Mr. Pandikuthira is Nissan Americas’ Regional SVP & Chief Planning Officer.
Nissan Titan
The Nissan Titan full-size pickup truck has been discontinued this year. You may still be able to find some new Titan pickup trucks at dealerships around the country, but the production of the Titan and Titan XD has ended.
It begs a question. Could the Nissan Titan pickup truck come back as a battery-electric or hybrid vehicle? Apparently, the answer is “No”. According to Mr. Pandikuthira – coming back with a full-size truck would be a very expensive proposition because of how competitive the segment already is. Ford, GM, Ram, and Toyota continue to dump large sums of money into designing, producing, marketing, and selling their full-size trucks.
Nissan Frontier
The Frontier is currently a successful midsize pickup truck in the United States. It’s currently the 4th most popular midsize pickup, by sales numbers in Q3 2024. The refreshed 2025 Nissan Frontier started shipping to dealers several weeks ago. Mr. Pandikuthira says that Nissan is looking at options in order to electrify the Frontier platform. It could be a range-extended electric vehicle (EREV) or another type of hybrid. The point is not to dilute the ruggedness and capability of the Frontier by electrifying it.
Nissan Xterra
It has been nearly 10 years since the Nissan Xterra 4×4 stopped production and sale in the United States. The Jeep Wrangler, Ford Bronco, Toyota 4Runner, Toyota Land Cruiser, and many others continue their sales success (with some “bumps” along the way). Could the beloved Nissan Xterra come back? Mr. Pandikuthira says it’s a matter of “when” not “if”. The Nissan team is working very hard to bring it back. Once again it will have to be true to its brand. It needs to be tough, capable, and affordable.
When could the Xterra come back? What powertrain will it use? We do not know yet. It may still be several years away.
You can watch or listen to this Nissan interview below.
Here is a detailed overview and test drive of the updated 2025 Nissan Frontier PRO-4X pickup trucks.
