Nissan and Mitsubishi to jointly work on pickups and hybrids for America

Alliance partners Nissan and Mitsubishi have been collaborating since 2016 in their home market of Japan. Still, a plan has been formed to extend this pooling of resources to North America. A Mexico-built 1-ton pickup truck and a plug-in hybrid vehicle for Nissan are first on the agenda to strengthen both brands in the US.

Mitsubishi joined the Renault-Nissan Alliance in 2016 when the Japanese manufacturer was in trouble due to an emissions cheating scandal. However, the collaboration was limited to Asia and Europe, with Mitsubishi recently introducing rebadged Renaults to stay present in Europe. As Automotive News Europe reports, a collaboration between Japanese manufacturers is coming to North America.

PHEV for Nissan, Mexico-built (electric?) pickup coming soon

Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida unveiled the plan to strengthen his and Mitsubishi’s position in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, with two main products as the first milestone: a plug-in hybrid model from Nissan based on Mitsubishi tech and a 1-ton pickup truck built in Mexico for both brands, in the same category as the current Nissan Frontier.

An electric version of this pickup truck is likely but not yet confirmed, although some electrification is expected. A planned release date between 2027 and 2031 is expected. Other models are likely coming, with Mitsubishi counting on Nissan’s EV expertise to expand its American model range.

Building the pickup in Mexico would avoid any import tariffs, which is why Mitsubishi doesn’t sell the Triton/L200 Stateside. Making it electric would also make it eligible for subsidies under the Inflation Reduction Act – if this bill survives the next presidential term.

Part of The Arc

Nissan previously announced it would strengthen its strategic collaborations as part of its The Arc business plan, which aims to bring 30 new models to market by 2026. Using shared technology would help reduce development costs and get these models to market faster.

In the next 2.5 years, seven all-new models will be launched in the US and Canada, including this first plug-in hybrid. A collaboration with Honda was also recently announced, with electric vehicles as the primary focus.