As Nissan concurrently works to impress its product portfolio and work out re-spark its truck technique, the Japanese automaker may very well be exploring a product to do each: a small, light-weight electrical pickup for the U.S., and maybe Canada.

Nissan is finding out a brand new mannequin that will slot under its Frontier midsize pickup, in accordance with an individual accustomed to the matter.

This yr, Nissan mentioned that every one of its “new car choices” in key markets can be electrified by the early 2030s.

Small pickups are instantly an trade white area. The nascent compact pickup section up to now consists of the upcoming Ford Maverick and just-launched Hyundai Santa Cruz, however it’s forecast to develop to about 99,000 models in 2023 in the USA, in accordance with IHS Markit information.

A compact pickup would reposition Nissan in a section that buyers anticipate the model to play in, given its historic success with the Frontier, mentioned Tyson Jominy, vice chairman for information and analytics at J.D. Energy.

“It is a good pivot for Nissan to supply a pickup in a section the place rivals aren’t there en masse but,” Jominy mentioned.

Judy Wheeler, Nissan division vice chairman of gross sales and regional operations in the USA, downplayed the hypothesis of an electrical compact pickup however didn’t rule the concept out.

“There’s every kind of issues below dialogue,” Wheeler instructed Automotive Information. “I do not know that there’s any critical dialogue there at this level.”

Even so, Wheeler foreshadowed prospects for electrified Nissan pickups.

“I might see that coming,” Wheeler mentioned of an electrical powertrain. “The pickup space is type of fascinating. There can be a client that is trying extra for a way of life car that they will put all their gear in and go off-roading.”

Wheeler famous Nissan has been a pioneer within the electrical car area, launching the Leaf hatchback greater than a decade in the past. “We now have this nice base that we created with our customers, our actually robust vendor community that not solely can promote [EVs], but additionally have a service community,” she mentioned.

A small pickup could be a pure extension for Nissan, which launched the small truck section to Individuals within the Nineteen Sixties below the Datsun model title.

“Nissan has a protracted historical past of making segments complete fabric and being the primary entrant,” Jominy mentioned, citing the Leaf and Xterra off-roader. He mentioned a smaller electrical pickup could be a “excellent play” for the model.

Nissan is close to the tail finish of a product revival that leans closely on nostalgia, updating icons such because the Z sports activities automobile, Frontier and Pathfinder crossover.

Bringing a small pickup to North America suits properly with that heritage-focused technique, mentioned Greg Carrasco, vice chairman of operations at Oakville Nissan in suburban Toronto.

“Nissan as soon as was a unusual, fascinating Japanese automobile producer that had loyalty due to what number of probabilities they took when it got here to design, when it got here to efficiency,” Carrasco mentioned.

However alongside the way in which, Nissan forgot who it was, Carrasco mentioned. “That momentary amnesia is type of curing itself.”

A brand new pickup might additionally assist Nissan jump-start its stalled momentum in that high-volume, high-margin area.

Nissan’s Titan is lifeless final in its class in the USA, eking out a 1.5 per cent share of the 1,161,563 full-size pickups bought this yr by way of June.

The truck is discontinued in Canada.

“It is rather exhausting, I believe, for a Japanese firm to actually do extraordinarily effectively in opposition to the domestics,” Wheeler acknowledged.

Crossovers, sedans and midsize pickups are the “coronary heart and the longer term for us,” she mentioned. “If we are able to do Titan, we’ll proceed to do Titan. However we’re not going to do loopy stuff.”

Nissan is extra optimistic about its prospects within the midsize pickup section. The model is hopeful its third-generation Frontier, which arrives in early September, will elevate it from fifth place amongst midsize pickups in Canada. Final yr, the Frontier’s U.S. gross sales tallied 36,845. The automaker bought 1,593 in Canada because the pandemic ravaged gross sales of nearly every part.

However Carrasco sees a possibility for Nissan to stake a declare within the fledging compact pickup section.

“There are lots of people that personal small properties that do not want full-size pickup vans and are on the lookout for fuel-efficient and costs-effective pickups,” he mentioned. “Early adopters are going to be taking a look at this area, and if there’s any market available, now’s the time.”

On the identical time, the transition to battery-powered automobiles throughout product segments is simply starting, IHS principal automotive analyst Stephanie Brinley mentioned.

These new EVs will conquest from combustion engine car house owners, Brinley mentioned.

“Coming into the compact pickup section with an EV might show sensible for Nissan, however that does not essentially imply it would improve the model’s total quantity, ” she mentioned.