Nissan has seemingly confirmed plans to electrify the Nissan Frontier midsize pickup in an effort to keep it competitive in the evolving US market.
Speaking with Motor Trend, Nissan’s North American planning chief, Ponz Pandikuthira, said of the next-generation Frontier, “For its life cycle to make sense and be compliant, it will have to be electrified.” They went on to mention a plug-in hybrid arrangement specifically as a way to allow the next-gen Frontier to maintain its body-on-frame design and preserve the truck’s ruggedness and towing capacity. “To keep that full spectrum of use, I think a plug-in hybrid would be the ultimate solution,” Pandikuthira mentioned, adding that, “We’re still working on it.”
Pandikuthira also mentioned the brand’s desire to merge the Frontier and the foreign market Navara pickup into one vehicle, mentioning to Motor Trend that “Ideally, we’d like to have a global convergence solution.” This would be hugely beneficial as the company looks to reduce expenditures and simplify its global offerings in the face of an uncertain future.
In terms of timing, Pandikuthira eluded to a three-year timeframe, which would put the next-generation truck arriving sometime around 2028, saying, “We need to have a solution by then. Three years from now.” The current generation North American-sold Nissan Frontier debuted in 2022.
In an interesting confluence of events, Nissan revealed the Frontier Pro Plug-In pickup at the Shanghai Auto Show. This truck, while sharing its name with the aforementioned US-sold truck, is an entirely different vehicle based on the Chinese-market Nissan Dongfeng Z9.
This new Frontier Pro Plug-In’s powertrain combines a turbocharged 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine with an electric motor mounted to the transmission, producing a combined 402 hp and 590 lb-ft of torque. It will feature an electric-only range of around 83 miles. While initially bound for the Chinese market, Nissan mentioned that this version of the Frontier would likely make its way to other markets as well, but it don’t count on it making it to the US for a multitude of reasons.
From a design standpoint, the Frontier Pro Plug-In is very clearly related to the Nissan Dongfeng Z9, upon which it is based, with nearly identical bodysides and proportions. The front gets the most substantial update, carrying styling that references the classic Nissan D21 pickup from the 1980s, including a light bar featuring three dashes meant to evoke the distinctive grille of that vehicle. The rear is also very similar in design to that of the Nissan Dongfeng Z9, with a few unique touches scattered throughout, including unique rear lighting patterns.
The interior of the Frontier Pro Plug-In is nearly identical to that of the Nissan Dongfeng Z9, with two digital displays and a two-spoke steering wheel, though splashed with Nissan logos and different trim details.
This new international-market Frontier Pro Plug-In may at least give us a preview of the design direction Nissan plans to take for all of its future pickups. We’ll have to wait a few years to find out.
