By Mike Ramsey
Last year was a good one for Nissan Motor Co. Overall sales for
the sixth-largest U.S. car maker rose 11.1% through December,
faster than the market's 5.9% increase.
But Nissan has a glaring hole in its lineup: SHYpickup
trucks.
With gasoline near $2 a gallon, Nissan dealers like George
Waikem II desperately want a model that is fresher than Nissan's
current Titan, a full-size truck introduced about a dozen years ago
and not redesigned since.
The aged design "is about as hot as chewing gum you spat out in
August," Mr. Waikem said in an interview. His business in
Massillon, Ohio, is lucky to sell one Titan a month at a time when
full-size trucks account for 12% all U.S. new-vehicle sales.
Nissan Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn aims to get the Titan on
more buyers' lists with a new model to be shown Monday at the
Detroit auto show. The redesign has a chrome-laden front end,
similar to those from Detroit rivals, and offers a 5-liter diesel
engine option that the company believes is unrivaled among
light-duty trucks because of its towing power.
The North American International Auto Show that begins Monday
traditionally showcases dozens of new models, ranging from moonshot
concept cars to mild updates of best sellers. Nissan launched its
first Titan pickup to challenge Detroit's dominance of trucks at
the 2003 show.
While Nissan doesn't expect its new model to come close to the
sales volumes of Ford Motor Co. or General Motors Co.'s trucks, the
2016 Titan could go a long way toward achieving Mr. Ghosn's goal of
reaching a 10% U.S. market share. U.S. auto makers earn between
$7,000 and $10,000 on each truck they sell. Overall, Nissan last
year held an 8.4% share of the U.S. market compared with
fifth-largest U.S. seller Honda Motor Co.'s 9.3% share. Honda
doesn't offer a full-size truck.
The current Titan starts at about $29,400 and Nissan sold just
12,527 Titans through December last year, down 20% compared with
its 2013 sales.
Nissan believes the new truck could easily triple or quadruple
existing sales, but even at that rate it would only narrow the gap
in total sales with Honda. The 2016 model goes on sale in the U.S.
in late fall.
Toyota Motor Corp., the largest auto maker in the world, sells
the Tacoma and Tundra pickups, but its full-size Tundra has failed
to dent the market dominated by the Ford F-series, GM's Silverado
and Sierra, and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV's Ram.
Nissan's hopes of becoming a bigger seller centers on a new
diesel engine from Cummins Inc. Gasoline engines are more common in
light-duty trucks (sometimes referred to as 1500s), with auto
makers typically reserving pricier and more efficient diesels for
heavy-duty pickups (2500s).
With its new diesel engine, Nissan's truck will be able to tow
more than 12,200 pounds, which is where other light-duty trucks top
out. Nissan hasn't released details, but the auto maker expects to
be able to lure people wanting more power without having to pay up
for a heavy-duty pickup.
Truck buyers have been saying 'When, for God sakes, are you
going to bring diesels to the 1500 segment,' " said Fred Diaz,
Nissan's U.S. sales chief. He expects Cummins's 5-liter diesel
engine will give the Titan "street cred" among truck buyers.
"Our expectations and our business plans are very reasonable.
Nobody in here thinks we are going to ride into the truck market
and dominate the three domestic OEMs," said Mr. Diaz. "Whatever
volume we are selling is going to be more."
Tom Libby, an analyst with researcher IHS Automotive, said
Nissan needs a flashy gimmick if it hopes to convert even a few
truck buyers from their existing brands. "They are going to need to
be able to offer something that separates them from the others,
otherwise, why would anyone look at them," he said.
Nissan planned to have a new pickup design several years ago,
but a deal with Chrysler to share truck parts fell apart when the
U.S. auto maker declared bankruptcy in 2009. Nissan had to start
from scratch redesigning the truck, but was able to snag the
Cummins diesel after Chrysler ditched plans to use it.
Diesel engines offer more towing-friendly torque and between 25%
and 30% greater fuel efficiency than gasoline engines. But
diesel-powered trucks are roughly $5,000 more than a comparable
gasoline-powered model. And diesel fuel, costing $1 or more a
gallon than gasoline, erodes that advantage.
Nissan isn't the first auto maker to put a diesel engine in a
light-duty truck. Chrysler launched a Ram 1500 with a 3-liter in
early 2014. Much smaller than Nissan's engine, the Ram's diesel was
the first to hit the light-duty segment in 15 years.
According to IHS Automotive, fewer than 10% of Ram 1500 buyers
opt for a diesel engine. Chrysler sold nearly 440,000 Rams last
year.
Write to Mike Ramsey at michael.ramsey@wsj.com
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