Nissan is on the tail end of a two-year product freshening that has lifted the brand’s sales, customer sentiment and dealer profits.
The Japanese automaker has delivered redesigns of critical models, including the iconic Z sports car, the best-selling Rogue compact crossover and the workhorse Frontier pickup.
Now, Nissan is turning its attention to electrification. Nissan said that all “new-vehicle offerings” in key markets will be electrified by the early 2030s.
This fall, the automaker — an EV pioneer when it launched the Leaf more than a decade ago — will introduce its second all-electric model, the Ariya crossover.
Nissan Americas boss Jeremie Papin described the Ariya as “segment-defining.”
“The attention to quality and the innovations we’ve brought — the central console, how the human-to-machine interface works, how the switches are built into the panels — is a step above what has been available in this segment so far,” Papin told Automotive News.
Looking beyond, Nissan should bring an electric sedan in 2025. The automaker will invest $500 million in its Canton, Miss., factory to build that vehicle and other EVs.
Further out, Nissan is said to be considering an electric pickup for the U.S. In November, Nissan showed off a battery-powered pickup concept.
Meanwhile, change is coming to some of Nissan’s iconic nameplates.
The Leaf — which pioneered the EV segment when it launched in the U.S. in late 2010 — will be replaced with a new coupe-like electric crossover by mid-decade.
The flagship Maxima sedan gets ditched next year. And the Titan — Nissan’s attempt to take a sustainable share of the full-size pickup segment — will be discontinued by mid-decade.
Nissan will also speed up the product cadence — bringing updates to market faster.
“We plan to keep products fresh in their segments and across the lineup, which means you need to bring a product evolution into the marketplace more regularly,” Papin said. “Frontier was a 14-year-old truck when we replaced it. We don’t plan on doing these types of life cycles again.”
Electric pickup: Rumors of a battery-powered, lightweight pickup for the U.S. surfaced last summer. The new model would slot below Nissan’s Frontier midsize pickup and arrive later in the decade.
In November, Nissan teased an outdoorsy activity vehicle concept, called Surf-Out, with an open cabin-back for easy access to the pickup bed. The electric truck would use an advanced system of Nissan’s e-4ORCE all-wheel-drive electric drivetrain.
Ariya: The new Rogue-size Ariya electric crossover was initially expected to launch in mid-2021 but got delayed by COVID-related chip shortages. U.S. sales will instead begin in the fall.
The dual-motor EV is available in front-wheel or all-wheel drive and delivers up to 300 miles of driving range. New technologies include Nissan’s next-generation automated driving system.
The Ariya features prominent front fenders, rear fender flares, super-slim LED headlights and a steeply raked C-pillar. It ditches the conventional grille for what Nissan describes as a “shield,” which, in driving mode, is illuminated to reveal Nissan’s V-motion design signature.
Electric crossover coupe: Nissan will introduce a replacement for the Leaf mid-decade. Nissan teased the new model last year in a sporty concept called the Chill-Out. It uses Nissan’s CMF-EV platform and features the dual-motor e-4ORCE all-wheel-drive system.
Leaf: Nissan’s original EV received a price cut and more standard EV-focused features for the 2022 model, including a CHAdeMO Quick Charge port and a portable 240-volt charging cable.
The Leaf was marketed as an affordable, mass-market electric car when it launched in the U.S. in late 2010. But the hatchback has been outpaced in the market by a wave of more stylish and capable offerings.
U.S. production of the Leaf — currently in its second generation — is expected to end mid-decade.
Electric sedan: The battery-powered model arrives in 2025 and features a sedan-like profile with a sloping roofline and new headlight and taillight designs.
Inspired by the Nissan IMs concept shown at the Detroit auto show in 2019, the dual-motor EV will be based on the CMF-EV platform and feature a long wheelbase and waistline, cabin-forward A-pillars and sloped rear-window angle.
The Canton, Miss.-made EV will straddle the customer markets currently served by the midsize Altima and full-size Maxima sedans.
Titan: Production of Nissan’s full-size pickup ends in late 2024, Automotive News reported in June.
Frontier: Last year, Nissan’s midsize pickup received its first significant redesign since 2004. It features a 3.8-liter direct-injection V-6 engine that delivers 310 hp and a new nine-speed automatic transmission.
A minor freshen is pegged for 2025.
Armada: The large SUV was freshened last year. The Armada, built on Nissan’s global Patrol platform, gets a rugged exterior that underscores the SUV’s off-road DNA, and a contemporary interior delivers modern conveniences and safety tech. The exterior got a more chiseled styling with a new grille, headlights, bumpers and fenders.
Expect a redesign in the first half of 2024, when the SUV swaps its thirsty V-8 for a more efficient V-6 twin-turbo.
Pathfinder: Nissan redesigned the midsize crossover last summer. The Pathfinder carries over the previous generation’s 3.5-liter V-6 engine but ditches Nissan’s continuously variable transmission in favor of a ZF-supplied nine-speed automatic transmission that delivers greater torque from a standing start and has more-capable towing performance.
An outdoorsy trim arrives this summer as the Pathfinder Rock Creek. The package features off-road suspension, 18-inch beadlock-style wheels, all-terrain tires and a tubular roof rack.
A midcycle freshen should arrive in 2025.
Murano: The midsize crossover — powered by a 3.5-liter V-6 engine — will be redesigned in 2024. The next Murano will ride on a revised version of Nissan’s D platform and could receive a turbo four-cylinder engine.
Rogue: Nissan’s bestseller received an engine upgrade last year. The 1.5-liter three-cylinder turbo engine increased horsepower by more than 10 percent.
An off-road trim of the Rogue could arrive in 2023, similar to the Rock Creek package on the Pathfinder.
The Rogue should see a heavy freshen in 2024 that could bring Nissan’s ePower serial-hybrid technology to the compact crossover.
Meanwhile, the Rogue Sport variant, which is getting lost between the Rogue and Kicks, could be dropped after the current model year.
Kicks: Nissan’s entry-level crossover received a freshen last year that delivered sporty design tweaks, a restyled interior and technology upgrades.
The redesigned Kicks is expected in early 2024 and will receive all-wheel drive and possibly Nissan’s e-Power serial-hybrid technology.
Dealers describe the new model as being more aggressive and “SUV-like.” The diminutive Kicks will get longer and wider in its new avatar, better positioning it against the new Honda HRV and Toyota Corolla Cross.
Maxima: The large flagship sedan, last redesigned in 2015, will be dropped after the current life cycle ends in the second half of next year. Maxima sales slumped 62 percent to 3,753 in the year’s first half.
GT-R: The aging halo sports car will receive a freshen in 2024 and electrification could come later.
The current-generation GT-R sports car — one of the oldest models in the portfolio — entered production in December 2007 but has received periodic updates, such as new carbon brakes. It is powered by a 3.8-liter twin-turbo V-6 that delivers 565 hp.
A 600-hp GTR Nismo Special Edition arrived last fall. Upgrades included a clear-coated carbon-fiber hood to cut weight and deliver a racy look.
Altima: Nissan’s midsize sedan receives a freshen this fall that will deliver an updated design, more standard safety features and new tech.
The all-wheel-drive Altima has a choice of 4-cylinder powerplants — a 2.0-liter Variable Compression Turbo or a 2.5-liter DOHC engine.
The updated Altima receives a new front fascia, with an updated expression of Nissan’s V-Motion grille that adopts the redesigned brand logo.
The gasoline-powered Altima is not expected to continue once production of the current generation ends in 2026.
Sentra: The compact sedan, redesigned in 2020, is powered by a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine that delivers 149 hp, up 20 percent from the previous generation’s 1.8-liter engine.
A cosmetic freshen, similar to the Versa, arrives in early 2023, with a redesign expected in 2026.
A performance version of the Sentra with a 1.5-liter three-cylinder turbo engine being planned.
Z: The iconic sports car receives a makeover this year — its first redesign since 2009. The seventh-generation Z retains its long, sloped hood, broad rear flanks, and squared-off Kamm tail that recalls its early 1970s look as the Datsun 240Z.
The new Z pumps out 400 hp with a 3.0-liter turbocharged twin-turbo V-6 engine, an increase of 50 hp over the previous 370Z’s output. The latest Z is 4.9 inches longer than the outgoing model, with the extra sheet metal packed in the nose.
A performance Nismo trim of the Z could arrive in 2024.
Versa: Nissan’s entry-level subcompact is due for a freshen in late 2022, bringing a minor exterior update. But the Versa may not continue in the U.S. beyond its current life cycle, which ends as demand for sedans evaporates.