Nissan continues to refine its business and product strategy with the under-pressure Japanese carmaker set to reorganise 80 per cent of its global nameplates into three broad families.
As reported by Automotive News, the brand's new 'Family-Planning' structure will see the introduction of five new body-on-frame models in two years to be introduced at 'China Speed'.
Nissan remains in the midst of a major global financial crisis, recording massive consecutive annual losses, including a A$7.0 billion net loss for the fiscal year ending March 2025 and a A$4.7 billion net loss for the year ending March 2026.
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Nissan CEO Ivan Espinosa launched the revised product approach as part of the company's goal to cut its global product portfolio by 20 per cent to 45 models from 56 currently and slash development lead times from 50 to 30 months.
Three product family groupings
The three product family groupings are mid-size (think X-Trail), compact family (think Qashqai/Note) and body-on-frame, the latter initially focused on reintroduction of the Xterra SUV in the US market from 2028, with it and "four sibling spinoffs" to be produced at Nissan's Canton, Mississippi plant by the end of the decade.
Speaking at the company's Yokohama headquarters on Friday, Nissan Deputy General Manager Product Business Division Hidemi Sasaki said the new direction will reduce vehicle development time by 40 per cent, enable a 20 per cent reduction in the number of different parts used and commonise 70 per cent of components.
"China players are following different rules; they are changing the game. That's why we are trying to do this transformation.
"By revising the business scheme, we can reduce investment and efficiently engineer cars in a shorter period of time while catering to all the needs in the market," he said.
Shared platforms, powertrains and software
Nissan is aiming to optimise shared platforms, powertrains, software systems and components by planning an entire family at the same time.
The US-made models will lead off with the five-seat Xterra SUV, followed by a three-row Nissan SUV, the Navara-sized Frontier pick-up, as well as two- and three-row Infiniti SUVs.
Sasaki-san's presentation included a teaser image of the upcoming Xterra with what Automotive News described as "a rugged stance, flared fenders, angled C-pillar, indented hood and semi-solid front fascia with the Nissan name spelled out in capital letters."
V6 and V6 parallel hybrid powertrains
He said the frame family will share about 70 per cent of components forward of the B-pillar and underneath, including the platform, V6 and V6 parallel hybrid powertrains, software, electrical system, navigation and driver-assist systems.
Vehicles will then be given specific rear 'top hats' to differentiate them as pick-ups, three-row SUVs or premium Infiniti vehicles, the latter receiving their own interiors and exterior styling.
While recognising Nissan already develops multiple vehicles around common, modular platforms, Sasaki said, "The timing is what is different. In the first stage, we will plan multiple models at the same time.
"In the traditional way, we tried to do this, but the business planning was not as fast," he said.
Performance models including the Z or a future GT-R, as well as light commercial vans fall outside the scope of the family structure for now.