Nissan sees opportunity in compact pickup segment as FoMoCo pulls Ranger

Nissan Frontier

Ford recently gave us something that used to be Euro-only: the Fiesta, and it has been well received, but they will be pulling the Ranger. Due to this gap, Nissan seems to think that it will capture the Ranger’s sales: “We’re really the beneficiary of Ford pulling out of the segment,” says Al Castignetti, Nissan Division’s U.S. sales boss.

This begs the question though: how long will the alleged gravy train last for Nissan? The next Chevy Colorado/GMC Canyon will be coming out soon, and what is the Toyota ‘Taco then, chopped liver?

Ford’s truck sales figures as this question as well: Nissan thinks they have a fighting chance in the more roomy compact pickup segment, but when Ford sold over 70,000 now-discontinued Rangers last year (28% more than 2010), nearly 50,000 more than the number of Nissan’s full-size pickup, the Titan, it seems implausible that Nissan will fill the gap.

They might be punching through with an aggressive ad campaign to bring awareness of the company’s truck division, but as we have seen with the Suzuki Kizashi (they only sold 5,000-6,000 of them last year), aggressive advertising is not everything. Only time will tell.

– By: Sawyer Sutton

Source: Automotive News