Nissan Just Killed Its Full-Size Titan Pickup
Nissan’s slow-selling Titan full-size pickup production will be ending soon. There is no replacement in the hopper to continue the model. Just updated last year, it was supposed to be able to hold the line while a new Titan was in the works. Alas, that is not the case.
What will be the last year for Titan?
As first reported by John McElroy’s Autoline Daily, 2022 will be Titan’s last year of production. Over the years Nissan has chosen to cut models and engine options for the Titan, while competitors are doing the opposite. It currently only offers one engine having killed the diesel option last year. Also last year Nissan stopped selling it in Canada, further cutting sales potential.
The Titan saw its best sales year in 2017 and 2018. It sold slightly over 50,000 pickups those years. But even with the refresh that came as 2019 ended, sales sputtered to only 26,441 units. Though never meant to cover as many choices as Ford, Ram, or Chevy, those trucks sold 575,600; 633,694; and almost 900,000 respectively.
How do Titan sales compare to the Toyota Tundra?
As you can tell, sales were a sliver of what the big three truck makers see. Even Toyota is able to sell around 100,000 Tundra full-size pickups every year. And 2022 will see a new, albeit clunky-looking, Tundra in showrooms.
When looking at the upheaval Nissan has seen over the last few years it seems it will shift its focus to EVs and new versions of its popular SUVs. When you’re financially hamstrung, you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do to survive.
Nissan will field an all-new mid-size Frontier in 2022
And to its credit, Nissan has finally developed a new mid-size Frontier pickup for 2022. And unlike the Tundra, it actually looks like a well-designed pickup. It should improve the slipping sales figures it has experienced over the past several years.
From a high of almost 87,000 Frontiers sold in 2017, its numbers have steadily decreased. For 2020 it only sold just under 55,000, while this year looks to be worse. But Nissan has produced a small pickup forever. It is the model it first sold in the US.
We hate to see it go, but…
So while we hate to see Nissan throw in the towel for its full-size ambitions, we get it. It just never got any traction, partially due to its limited choices, and pricing that was above some competitors’ trucks. The Ariya EV really looks like it will compete handily in that space. If Nissan has other models that look as daring as the Ariya, it should improve its gloomy financial situation.
