Nissan pares back

Nissan is shrinking its global lineup to 45 vehicles from 56 as it tries to rebuild around fewer nameplates, more hybrids and more software. (reuters.com) The company said April 14 it wants more than 80 percent of its sales volume to come from three vehicle families, with the United States, Japan and China set as its lead markets. Nissan also said it aims to put its AI Drive technology into 90 percent of future models over the long term. (nissannews.com) Chief Executive Officer Ivan Espinosa is pushing the reset about a year after taking the top job, and Reuters reported Nissan will drop low-performing models rather than keep a broader catalog. CNBC reported the plan also sets annual sales targets of 1 million vehicles each in the United States and China, and 550,000 in Japan. (reuters.com) (cnbc.com) A smaller lineup is supposed to let Nissan spend less engineering money on overlapping vehicles and move faster on updates that buyers can see, like powertrains, driver-assistance systems and in-car software. MotorTrend reported Nissan has grouped the surviving products into four families called Core, Heartbeat, Growth and Partner. (motortrend.com) The powertrain shift is central because Nissan has lagged rivals in gasoline-electric hybrids in major markets, even as hybrid demand has stayed strong in the United States. Nissan said it will add more powertrain choices, including a Rogue Hybrid with e-Power and a new hybrid system for body-on-frame vehicles. (motortrend.com) (nissannews.com) In Nissan’s e-Power system, the gasoline engine acts as a generator and the wheels are driven by an electric motor, which gives the feel of an electric vehicle without requiring a plug. That setup is already sold in some markets, and Nissan’s April 14 plan said the next step is broader rollout in higher-volume models. (motortrend.com) (nissannews.com) The plan also reshuffles where Nissan builds vehicles. The Clarion Ledger reported the revived Xterra sport utility vehicle will be assembled in Canton, Mississippi, starting in 2028, giving that plant a new product after Nissan pulled back some electric-vehicle production plans there. (clarionledger.com) MotorTrend reported the new Xterra is expected to share a body-on-frame architecture with the Frontier pickup, Pathfinder sport utility vehicle and Infiniti QX60, which is part of Nissan’s push to reuse parts and engineering across multiple models. That is the tradeoff in this strategy: fewer distinct vehicles on paper, but more common hardware underneath. (motortrend.com) Nissan’s own product list for the coming cycle includes an all-new Rogue Hybrid e-Power, the returning Xterra and an all-new Juke electric vehicle, while Infiniti remains in the plan with refreshed and new models. The company is betting that a shorter list of vehicles can still cover more of the market if each one carries more technology and more variants. (nissannews.com) The turnaround now hinges on whether Nissan can make fewer vehicles feel newer for longer. For buyers, the next visible test is not the model count itself, but the hybrid Rogue, the 2028 Xterra and how quickly Nissan’s software features spread across the lineup. (reuters.com) (nissannews.com) (clarionledger.com)