Nissan Wants To Build Electric Xterra, Frontier Models

Following a recent look into the brand's future product plans for the US, with half a dozen new models confirmed for the American market, we've now learned a little more about the upcoming platforms and the vehicles they may underpin.

The latest development is a new electric vehicle platform, one that is supposed to expand the Japanese automaker's electric offerings from the quirky oddball Leaf and the often overlooked Ariya. The new platform could spawn five US-built EVs, and yes, one of those is going to be a pickup.

New Platform Will Birth Five EVs

Nissan's head of product planning for the Americas, Ponz Pandikuthira, spoke with Automotive News about the new platform. He said that the new architecture is built around lower-cost lithium-ion batteries, not the solid-state cells the company is hoping to launch in 2028. It will offer faster charging than current Nissan EVs and will have more efficient motors delivering more range.

Crucially, production will happen at Nissan's plant in Canton, Mississippi, a plant that is about to have a lot of extra capacity.

Nissan had planned to build a successor to the Altima sedan as well as a new-generation Maxima, both built on the new EV platform. Market demands have changed, and so now it will launch with two crossovers. One from Nissan and one from Infiniti. At least one will be ready for 2028, but which one comes first depends on demand.

Nissan Sees Market For More Electric Off-Roaders

While the Infiniti model will no doubt be luxurious, the Nissan model will be something tougher. Like the concept we saw a few weeks ago. It could be joined by an electric pickup, perhaps something like the Surf Out concept, because Pandikuthira says there is a growing segment of buyers who want EVs but don't want to stick to pavement.

“There’s a growing niche of people who want an adventure vehicle but are environmentally conscious and don’t want to take a V8 off into the woods,” he said. “Do you have 100,000 of those willing to buy a Nissan electric truck? Doubtful. But that segment could grow, and we are keeping an eye on that.”AN describes the truck as a unibody model. Something smaller than the Rivian R1T, aimed at adventurers more than contractors.

That's three, but what other models might Nissan have planned? It's less certain. He said that sedans aren't likely if they're going to be expensive. Nissan doesn't play in the premium market.

Pandikuthira also said that it would be open to partnering with other OEMs at the plant. “The platform’s versatility and Nissan’s factory capacity in the US open the door to partnership opportunities with another OEM to lower manufacturing costs,” he told AN. A partnership like that could help Nissan cut costs. It could also help other automakers get around tariffs more quickly should the trade war end up sticking around.