Japanese automakers Nissan and Mitsubishi are partnering to catch up to the U.S. market as it shifts towards electric vehicles. The companies have agreed to exchange electrification technology, with Mitsubishi receiving an EV and Nissan obtaining a plug-in hybrid. Both brands will produce a pickup truck, with plans to manufacture fully electric and PHEV versions in Mexico.
The new vehicle is expected to be an electric variant of Nissan’s popular pickup, the Frontier.
Moreover, American dealers have been eagerly requesting Mitsubishi add a midsize pickup to its local inventory, which would fulfill their demand. Although Mitsubishi’s Triton pickup is available outside the U.S., the automaker cannot sell it in North America due to a 25% tariff on imported light trucks.
Since 2016, Nissan and Mitsubishi combined their forces following a scandal involving emissions cheating. Carlos Ghosn, the former chairman of Nissan, acquired a 34% interest in Mitsubishi.
While the two companies have collaborated on minicars in Japan, they focus on increasing sales in North America.
Nissan’s Chief Planning Officer, Ivan Espinosa, has announced that the company plans to launch an electric pickup truck between March 31, 2027, and March 31, 3031. This would be Nissan’s first electric pickup truck.
In addition to the electric pickup truck, Nissan plans to launch a plug-in hybrid vehicle. This would be the company’s second plug-in vehicle worldwide. The first was a crossover for China, marketed under the Venucia name, which used technology from Dongfeng Nissan and went on sale in July last year.
However, despite the growing demand for hybrid vehicles, Nissan’s operational profit increased by only 6% in the latest quarter, which has prompted the company to review its hybrid road map for the U.S. CFO Stephen Ma announced this review last month.
