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It isn’t common for vehicles to go a decade and a half without a redesign. There are exceptions, of course, but in the midsize truck segment, competition is getting hotter and Nissan can’t continue to be a strong seller with the same basic design it unveiled with the 2005 model.
So, they’re changing things up. In fact, those changes are “almost finished,” according to Ivan Espinosa, Nissan’s vice president of product planning.
It can’t come soon enough. Here are the 2005 model and the 2019 model side-by-side. Can you tell the difference?
They say if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. For years, the Nissan Frontier hasn’t been broken based on sales numbers, but this is a different era. New (and old) competitors are driving towards the segment at high speeds and threaten to shake up the midsize truck market. Between the 2020 Jeep Gladiator and the 2019 Ford Ranger, Nissan, Chevrolet, and Toyota will have their hands full.
Details are scant, but if the 2020 Nissan Frontier is to be the next generation, it may be able to make the splash it needs to retain strong sales numbers that they’ve held over the years. Then again, it may behoove them to wait a year and shake up the market after Ford and Jeep have had their turn at disrupting the status quo.
Nissan has enjoyed so much success with the current generation, it may be hard to let go so quickly. 2018 was the second-best year for the truck with nearly 80,000 units sent down the road. This followed a stellar 2016 with 87,000 units sold, which is probably why Nissan has allowed the truck to grow long in the tooth.
But the biggest need isn’t necessarily in the exterior design but in the technological advancements department. It’s woefully missing Apple CarPlay and Android Auto while not keeping pace with the safety technology being implemented in all of its competitors.
Some say the Nararro, which made a splash in international markets in 2014, may be the prototype for the next generation Frontier, but we believe this is unlikely. Even the Navarro is showing its age. With the automotive industry changing faster than a 10-speed transmission changes gears on an incline, the need for innovations and positive press are driving Nissan to try to keep pace.
If the next generation Frontier can be pushed up to be the 2020 model, we’ll have the most interesting year in midsize truck history. It will be interesting to see how Chevy and Toyota respond with Ford, Jeep, and possibly Nissan becoming the shiny objects of the day.
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