Nissan's Bold New Product Initiatives

It looks like Nissan and Infiniti showrooms will be showing signs of life in the near future, if the latest report from Automotive News is accurate. At a dealer meeting in Las Vegas, new CEO Ivan Espinosa reportedly talked about several upcoming vehicles...

• A new Xterra, reincarnating the Wrangler/Bronco fighter in 2028 off a new body-on-frame platform to be shared with the next Frontier--and possibly the next Pathfinder, Infiniti QX60, and QX65; it may feature a long-range V6 plug-in hybrid or EREV powertrain

• A new Infiniti Q50 (to replace the one that went out of production two years ago), possibly with a manual transmission

• A new Infiniti QX50 (which ends production later this year), derived from the new Nissan Rogue ePower series hybrid due in 2027

These join the next-gen Sentra and Rogue and an 'adventure-focused' SUV EV due in 2027 that were shown in the shadows in March. EVs appeared to be curiously absent from the discussion; you may recall plans to launch two new US-built EV sedans (for Nissan and Infiniti) later this year were scrapped in favor of two new US-built SUV EVs in the 2027/2028 timeline.

Overall, this is good news for dealers; although one might question whether three years out is too late to catch the wave of popularity for off-roading, it's only a year after the new Scout Traveler hits the streets. And plans for an internal combustion stick-shift sedan are pretty much unheard of these days, so this new Q50 might inject some much-needed energy into the somewhat lackluster Infiniti brand.

The Nissan Xterra Is Finally Coming Back, Even If It's At Least Five Years Late To The Off-Road SUV Party

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