Nissan Frontier EV? Production change raises speculation

One possibility is that the Frontier will reemerge around 2030 as an electric pickup, according to the supplier.

A battery-powered truck could boost Nissan’s drive to reclaim relevance in the EV segment it pioneered more than a decade ago with the Leaf.

A Nissan spokesperson declined to comment on future product plans.

AutoForecast Solutions Vice President Sam Fiorani said Nissan is already complicating operations at Canton by rolling out multiple EVs over the next few years.

“Pushing any electric Frontier out beyond these new launches avoids further confusion, as they need to get these new products onto dealers’ lots as soon as possible while keeping the quality up,” Fiorani said.

Keeping the profitable gasoline-powered Frontier on the market a little longer also will generate revenue to help Nissan invest in pricey product electrification while allowing consumer demand for EVs to firm up.

Nissan is investing $500 million at the 4.7 million-square-foot plant to initially build four EVs.

Production of a pair of battery-powered sedans for Nissan and Infiniti is scheduled to launch in 2026. Output of a Nissan electric crossover begins in early 2027, followed by an Infiniti crossover a year later, according to a timetable obtained by Automotive News.

Delaying the pickup’s redesign “gives the market time to mature enough to allow an electric Frontier to hit the ground running with high enough volume to make money,” Fiorani said.

Last year, Nissan sold 76,183 Frontiers in the U.S., up 26 percent from 2021. The supplier memo noted that Nissan plans to build 81,339 Frontiers for the 2028 model year and 65,599 for the 2029 model year.