It’s tough to break into an established market where brand loyalty reigns supreme and old habits die hard. Nowhere is that more evident than with full-sized pickup trucks in America, a segment in which the Detroit Three have a stranglehold on sales. Only two other brands of late have dared try to muscle their way into the arena; in the not-too-distant future, there may be only half that number.
According to a report from Automotive News, Nissan is ready to let its Titan pickup truck wither until the end of its current lifecycle. “There’s no plan engineering’s working on for replacing it, updating it,” a source for the industry insiders have apparently told AN. The only decision left to make, allegedly, is whether the truck makes it to the 2024 or 2025 model year.
Put succinctly by the source: “It’s dead.”
This is sad news, and not just because it means one less competitor in the marketplace. Nissan and their Titan always represented a quirky, off-beat choice for the segment – particularly when they offered the rig in ‘regular’ and ‘almost-but-not-quite’ three-quarter ton XD variants. Production of the second-gen Titan kicked off in November 2015, replacing a truck which had been on the market for well over a decade and had actually started development waaay back when we were all still worried about the Y2K bug. Your author will posit it was a decently attractive truck, though XD models had a too-long schnoz. It didn’t help that Ram, Ford, and GM always seemed to offer more toys like massaging seats and innovation such as the Blue Oval’s 7.2 kW in-bed generator on PowerBoost-equipped trucks.
Bent on taking the Detroit Three to task, Nissan offered the Titan in a myriad of body configurations – regular cab, extended cab, crew cab – and box lengths, not to mention a Cummins diesel option in the XD. These were surely not cheap decisions. A refresh in 2020 brought a tweaked nose and improved interior along with a better transmission and up-to-date driving tech. Sales did not get better.
North of the border, Canadian shoppers saw the Titan vanish from Nissan showrooms after the 2021 model year. This was much to the chagrin of some dealers who invested heavily in shop tools and equipment for these rigs, not to mention the training and marketing presence they had built over the years since the second-gen Titan appeared. One dealer in this author’s area now has a surplus building on his land, empty save for the now useless ‘Nissan Commercial’ signs hanging on the place. It should be noted the Titan comprised a significant chunk of his store’s volume.
If the talking heads are correct, this move may permit Nissan to free up production facilities and R&D for other models. There is an argument to be made the company may be better served plowing resources into other projects, doing the best job they can with those machines instead of spreading itself too thin by attempting to play in markets where it is failing to get much traction. In calendar year 2021 – a strange annum for all manufacturers, to be sure – Nissan managed to sell 27,406 Titan trucks. Ford, for its part, shifted a total of 726,004 F-Series pickups.
We’ll leave the last word with an anonymous dealer who provided the following quote to AN: “I would hope Nissan would spend extra money on R&D on the Frontier,” he said. “If we’re walking away from the full-size segment, then we must be extremely good at the midsize truck.”
[Images: Nissan]
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Maybe Nissan should just close up shop in the US entirely. There isn’t one vehicle in their lineup that’s best-in-class, and hardly anything that’s even competitive. All I really see around town are Altimas and Rogues, and I suspect those are bargain basement leases that you can get with a 630 credit score.
The CUVs aren’t in horrible shape. Pathfinder, Murano, Rogue, Kicks all measure up reasonably well against other things in the class.
The Frontier has its niche too.
The sedans are a disaster zone but no one except rental companies and the credit-challenged cares about sedans anymore anyway.
I love the “only scum and suckers buy sedans” arrogance. Well done dal20402.
I’m just describing the sales landscape. Don’t blame me; I love sedans.
Agree I like sedans as well but besides Nissan sedans being the mainstay of rental car fleets and credit risky customers the cars themselves are not that good especially with the Jatco CVTs. The Frontier itself is a good truck and so is the Titan but if the Titan is not selling then it is understandable why it will be discontinued. The Frontier is the only vehicle I would choose out of all Nissans.
“The sedans are a disaster zone but no one except rental companies and the credit-challenged cares about sedans anymore anyway.”
Oh and me, though at 817 am not credit challenged and am not running a rental company that I know of.
The LWB sedan bests the CUV but what passes for society is too broken and I believe controlled by groupthink to think for themselves.
“…but what passes for society is too broken and I believe controlled by groupthink to think for themselves.”
Starbucks and White Claw are absolute proof of that.
I’d argue with anyone about why the Frontier is not best in class at this very moment.
And I’m glad the Pathfinder ditched the crappy CVT and FWD platform. It looks promising and above average for its segment.
Not sure about the Z being a compelling product but I like its design. Hope it does well
Everything else is bland and I wouldn’t recommend to anyone.
Agree about the Altima and Rogue. Most I see on the roads are base versions with plastic wheel covers and some shade of grayscale exterior aka dealer special
The Pathfinder and new QX60 have a 9-speed in place of the CVT; true. But they are on the same transverse-FWD D-platform as the prior one, and as all recent mid/full-size transverse-FWD Nissan products.
I stand corrected on that one.
eggsalad-
You don’t have to be “best in class” to sell vehicles. I don’t know how the new Pathfinder performs on paper-but I can tell you it’s a nice effort in that segment.
BTW-the Rogue is the third best selling vehicle in it’s segment-it’s over simplified IMHO to all those buyers have lousy credit scores.
From everything I’ve read, the redesigned Rogue is very competitive in it’s segment.
Nissan should go balls-in and hybridize everything, sort of like Subaru 25 years ago with AWD. In this rush to EV everything, a lot of people for whom an EV wouldn’t be practical are being left out. I bet they’d consider plug-in hybrids and regular hybrids.
The Titan’s biggest issue IMO is the 2000-era mpgs at a time when it should be substantially better. That and the current styling is highly derivative.
The Altimas and Rogues I see around these parts fill the “buy here – pay here” lots.
No credit needed at all.
Stop with the “loyalty, established and or old habits” routine. The trucks just suck. There’s not one thing you can point to, more like the things you can’t. Tundra too.
So it’s not the trucks themselves, it’s the way they’re marketed. They want the gravy of the market, yet with narrow choices of trim/packages, and options bundled to the manufacturers advantage and ease/speed of assembly. Yeah like they’re Altimas, Camrys or something.
The “Big 3” started at the bottom with fleets and cheapskates, and start there every day. They treat them like they’re an essential part, and they are.
It’s not Rocket Science, it’s Monkey See Monkey Do. Except Nissan sucks at everything so bad, it has to be on purpose.
Nissan made some very big mistakes with the Titan. The XD should have been a 3/4 ton. The 5 litre V8 Cummins would have been a very competitive as lighter duty alternative to the Cummins Ram, Ford PowerStroke, and GM Duramax.
As @DenverMike points out, there needs to be a huge array of options. The Titan was very limited. For example, Ford has 4 engine choices in the F150, and 3 choices in the HD’s.
On the subject of loyalty,it does have an affect but I don’t think it’s as powerful as one thinks. Toyota skates by on its reputation for bland but reliable appliances. They conquest pizzed off “domestic” owners or upsell loyalists. That’s a small pool of buyers.
Nissan doesn’t have any “Western” heritage to draw from. Be competitive or die.
It was a goofy concept. The extra GVWR was used up or needed just to haul the diesel and related hardware. I can’t believe they’re that stupid.
Did they actually believe they could half asss their way to fullsize pickup ssuccess? Just because “Big 3” cars were such a soft target?
“Nissan doesn’t have any “Western” heritage to draw from.”
Toyota does?
@28-Cars-Later – Toyota’s heritage (western or otherwise) is reliable but bland appliances. That sells a lot of vehicles for them. It sells them pickups even though they aren’t really any better than “domestics”.
@DenverMike–Before Renault Nissan made some good vehicles. Nissan has a history of make reliable and good small trucks and at one time Nissan compact pickups were the Number 1 selling compact pickup but that was decades ago. Nissan cars use to be reliable and good values for the money but now they are junk. The Titan and the Tundra are both good trucks but they are not competitive with Ford, GM, and Ram. Nissan is making the right decision in dropping the Titan.
I agree only because of their current state of, can’t do anything right. And damn Nissan was class leading in every segment they played in, if not a close 2nd.
Killing the iconic Hard Body name was bizarre behavior, unbecoming, unfit or un- something else. The Titan can be saved, just shadowing all the moves any of the Big 3 or 2.5 pickups. It’ll all be forgiven if done right.
I’m not a fan of Ford trucks necessarily (that I consistently buy), but Ford has eaten the other’s lunch so far every time, in price, availability, rows of trucks, features, packages/discounts and rebates.
Dollars to donuts, a decent percentage of Big 3 pickup buyers hate the brand they bought.
@DenverMike–Except for a few Japanese made vehicles for the past 47 years I have owned GM vehicles like Chevrolets and Buicks and have liked them but I am no fan boy of them. Not so fond of the new GMs. I have owned a few Fords and all but 1 have been good and I have liked them. I bought a Maverick not because I love Fords which I do not hate but because I liked it and it checked all the boxes of what I wanted and needed. I have been very pleased with the Maverick and really like the great gas mileage. Having retired last December and downsizing and moving to Arizona it is a perfect truck for me. Back when I lived in the country a full size pickup would have been a better fit because of what I was using it for. The Titan was never going to dethrone the F-150, Silverado, Sierra, and Ram but if Nissan would update it and make it more competitive it would sell well enough to be profitable. Both the Titan and Tundra and good trucks but they are not competitive. I miss those Nissan Hard Body as well that was Nissan at its best along with the early Zs, early Maximas, and early compacts. Nissan was ruined by Renault. The best thing that could happen to Nissan would be for Renault to divest themselves of their interest in Nissan and Nissan become totally Japanese.
Make a compact truck. Nissan Callisto.
Nissan should consider making a true compact pickup and so should Mitsubishi and since Renault owns some of each they could share a compact pickup.
Much like with Infiniti and Lexus, there’s really only room for one.
Back when the first gen Titan launched, they used an undersized rear axle and had a lot of failures. I think that gave the impression they weren’t manly enough. The second gen “heavy half ton” with the Cummins was a big investment but wasn’t really what the market wanted or needed.
Nissan in in the midst of a reformation, and the Titan just doesn’t make sense any more. They need to spend resources where they can be successful.
Wait…. Nissan made a regular cab Titan? Never laid eyes on one.
With the big windshield and steep rake, the metal roof portion is very short. A very odd look in the side profile.
Yes, the singles are… very gonky:
norfolk.craigslist.org/ctd/d/virginia-beach-2017-nissan-titan-single/7494225342.html
The problem is that because of demographic situation in Japan there are not enough young engineers to replace ones who retire. So with limited engineering resources Japanese companies have to make hard decisions regarding products. While in 1989 list of largest companies in the world by market cap was dominated by Japanese, today it is 90% American companies many of which did not even exist in 1989. Japanese are even present in top 20 today. America still rules the world.
That’s the list: companiesmarketcap.com
I’m not a truck guy but as far as looks go the Titan is as attractive as the Big 3. If I needed a hauler I’d opt for the new midsize offerings.
Gas prices are high forever. Ford and GM and Chrysler big pickups are dead meat. Nissan is just doing the smart thing by cutting their losses. Low priced ICE sedans are the new must have and they are hot. In SoCal, small ICE sedans are impossible to buy new or used. Toyota hybrids are red hot.
jimmyy
The state in which I live (Utah) a small sedan would be beyond a joke for the families here.
High fuel prices will have an effect on all segments, but fullsize pickups are safe, if not protected. Never mind the mid to higher class buyers. The poor are most affect and they don’t buy new pickups.
Midsize pickups would die long before. They’re not much of an improvement over fullsize, and often deliver worse fuel economy depending on options or use.
Midsize pickups also don’t have commercial users anywhere close, and of course government and military. Plus they suck.
Think about it. Even a normal Corolla doesn’t have exponentially better fuel economy vs either. But then anything that size or smaller just aren’t an option for most.
I’m seeing less pickups on the road. I was talking to a guy with a new F350 Tremor with the 7.3. He lives 70 km out of town but close to the sawmill he works at. They bought a Honda Civic. The fuel savings is paying for the car. He’s just going to use the truck for family camping trips and hauling/towing toys.
I’m driving less and using hypermiling techniques.$300 to fill my tank. I’m looking forward to a 40% improvement in fuel economy.
Full size pickups are far from dead but with rising fuel prices they will not be in as much demand but demand could pick up when fuel prices stabilize and possibly go down but I doubt the days of cheap gas will return. I do believe that small trucks will become more popular.
Unless you were already struggling to feed the beast, yeah a few small changes and you’re good. Yet the only drivers I see hypermiling are in compacts.
I did something similar to hypermilling during the Arab Oil Embargo of 1973 with my parents 64 Impala wagon and got mpgs in the 20s. It was not called hypermilling then but it did help during the even odd day gas rationing. The 327 Quadrajet would get decent mpgs if you didn’t open all 4 barrels. I do something similar to hypermilling in my Maverick in that I slow down when anticipating a stop, gentle acceleration, and driving the speed limit which will all give you noticeably better fuel economy. Gas is expensive but at least we don’t have to wait for hours in a line to get it with the possibility that once you get to the pump there is no more gas. This happened again with the Iranian Hostage Crisis of 1979 but there was no rationing you just waited in the gas line and hoped you could get gas. I always kept a full tank of gas during that time in my 77 Monte Carlo. Always good to keep a full tank of gas when going thru times like that. We haven’t yet seen the shortages of gas and diesel but its always good to be prepared.
They really should run their 4-way flashers. The closest I come to hypermiling is timing the signal lights to slow or stop as little as possible and keep up after the green, even though they’re doing jackrabbit starts to standing on the brakes.
I learned that when I drove a class A end-dump, but it was all about keeping up with traffic and not getting caught by every red, fast across the city.
The reason for the mid-sized truck isn’t just economy, it’s the ability to park it in an ordinary parking space. The King Cab Frontier with six-foot bed hits the sweet spot. Some of us just want a truck that can haul anything and everything, and if it gets a little dirty, big whoop. If you want a show pony, look elsewhere. The Titan just never found its reason to exist in the US and since it hasn’t found that by now it was never meant to be. Let it go.
Midsize trucks are easier to park and fit in most garages. I believe we might see more compact trucks with the success of the Maverick especially for those who don’t need a larger truck and for those who wouldn’t normally buy a truck. A compact pickup would be a good product for Nissan especially if they offered a hybrid.
It’s not just the parking thing. Most Americans simply can’t drive something that big, scared they’ll run into absolutely everything, take out a few cyclists and a jogger or two.
So yeah midsize trucks are here to stay. They really don’t make sense otherwise. Automakers have picked up on the little fact, and with the latest round, charging just as much as fullsize, or more pound for pound. $3,500 for 4WD on a fullsize and $4K on a midsize. Ouch.
Some of us just don’t need to drive large vehicles. At one time I drove just large cars with V8s which I enjoyed because of the power, comfort, and at that time safety but I no longer want them. I haven’t owned a V8 powered vehicle in over 20 years. Yes I can drive a big vehicle but I don’t want to. I am getting ready to move from and sell my big house with a 3 car garage that I have lived in for 21 years and which I have enjoyed but my wife and I are building a new home less than half the size with a 2 car garage because we want to simplify and have less to take care of. The desire for a certain size vehicle or home can change during your lifetime based on needs or wants. I am at the point of life where less is more but that was not always the case when I was younger I wanted more and bigger.
Buy and drive what you like. It is more about efficiency but better efficiency does help in times of rising prices and limited supply. Takes a lot of stress off to purge yourself of things you don’t need but it is an individual choice and not for everyone.
I wanted a smaller truck so I can go more places in the backcountry. In town I get around just fine in my 20 foot long truck.
@Lou_BC–You got the vehicle you needed and wanted when you bought your F-150 and you are getting the vehicle you need and want when you buy your diesel Colorado. Different stages of your life you need different vehicles and different things.
Of course there’s situations that it’s cumbersome, but mostly it’s the Goldilocks. Despite them being off the table for most Americans, the vast majority of pickups on the road are extra cab fullsize.
First-time pickup buyers don’t go straight for fullsize by my estimation, or midsize is the gateway drug to fullsize. Possibly Ford should’ve based the Lightning on the Ranger but with F-series funding of course.
Maybe they just got a good deal and their credit scores are fine.
The Titan should be the most heavily discounted ICE vehicle in the showroom universe. Yes, many vehicles are selling above MSRP these days. But the Titan is unloved and comes standard with a V-8 engine in the current $5/gallon world. Fire sale time.
Hardly a shock. I’m surprised this didn’t happen earlier.
Titan’s fate was sealed when Nissan commercial devision basically closed shop and the related NV vans with it. The earlier plan to OEM RAM pick-ups for the second gen falling through didn’t help either in keeping the product line fresh. RIP.
I remember the Nissan dealer near me had a lot of those vans in stock and finally sold them. Many of those vans were sold to heating and cooling service companies, electricians, and other service industries. If I remember those vans were good but they were just not competitive in the van segment just as the Titan is a good truck it is just not competitive. The people I know who have had Titans liked them and for the most part they drive them for 200k miles or above with few issues. Sometimes a good reliable product does not sell for various reasons.
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