The speculation is not new, but it’s just been charged up again. According to Automotive News, Nissan is considering developing an all-electric pickup truck for North America.
That would allow the Japanese automaker to increase its offer of both pickups and EVs in one swoop, in a market it needs to grow in.
Ivan Espinoza, global head of product strategy and planning for Nissan, told Automotive News that “One thing you can be sure about is we're going to keep investing in the truck segment. How do we evolve ... is the question that we are discussing internally. Eventually, we will have to electrify the truck.”
In another interview with Automotive News, Tyler Slade, who heads the American Nissan dealers’ board, explained that the company doesn’t want to follow the strategy of other carmakers in offering up very expensive models. Instead, the goal is to have their trucks in the $40,000 USD range.
All of this said, Nissan’s immediate priority when it comes to electrification is to bring to market compact and mid-size SUVs. Espinoza says he sees an electric truck coming after those. “The key here is to read the customer requirements accurately and jump on the wave at the right moment.”
Certainly, there are currently signs all over the industry of a slowdown in the production of EVs, sales having dipped from their level of a few months ago.
Recall that in 2021, Nissan presented several new electric concepts, among them a compact truck called the Surf Out. We can easily imagine a production version of that competing directly with the Ford Maverick and Hyundai Santa Cruz.
On the other hand, this won’t happen quickly. If the truck does get the green light, it likely won’t be ready until close to 2030. Which is the year starting at which Nissan plans to offer only all-electric new models.
Stay tuned.
