Brett Foote
A host of legacy and upstart automakers are preparing to launch all-electric pickups over the next couple of years, and that includes the Ford F-150 EV. Now, it appears that a Nissan electric pickup will follow suit as well, according to a report from The Detroit News. The Japanese automaker is reportedly thinking about buying a battery-electric powertrain from Hercules Electric Vehicles, a Detroit-based startup, for an electrified version of the Titan.
Additionally, the partnership would reportedly include the sharing of certain parts from this prospective Nissan electric pickup with Hercules, which it would then use in its own EV truck. However, the deal apparently isn’t final yet, and nothing has been officially agreed to. So these details are subject to change, or talks could fall apart completely.
The Nissan Titan has been on sale in the United States since 2003, but has never managed to become a serious competitor for the likes of the Ford F-150, Chevrolet Silverado, or Ram. Deliveries this year total a mere 19,403 units so far, which is a drop in the bucket compared to the F-150’s 589,034. But as even major automakers begin to shift to electric power, Nissan is almost certain to follow suit.
The electric F-150, scheduled to launch in mid-2022, will be joined by upstarts including the Nikola Badger, Tesla Cybertruck, Lordstown Motors Endurance, and Ford-backed Rivian R1T in the coming years, as well as a future electric Chevy and Ram pickup and the GMC Hummer EV. It’s soon to be a crowded field for certain.
While no one, including Ford, really knows what sort of demand will exist for EV pickups, the automaker recently ramped up its F-150 EV production capacity by 50 percent ahead of stronger-than-expected interest.
We’ll have more on the forthcoming EV truck market soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for the latest Ford F-Series news, Ford F-150 news, and continuous Ford news coverage.
It may cost less but no Nissan vehicle can even match 10% of the Ford F-150 truck sales. And only Nissan fans will buy their trucks, gassers or electrics.
They barely sell the gas Titans, this does not seem like a worthwhile investment for them.
Can we just put it out of its misery and be done with it?
Nissan and Toyotas problem, aside from being foreign companies, is there’s like 3 option packages to choose from and that’s it. But you can’t structure the options for a full size pickup the same as an Altima. People use trucks in tons of different ways and you need a high degree of configurability to meet those needs. Different cab/bed configurations. Engine choices. Half ton, 3/4 ton, 1 ton sizes. Huge range of interior trim options. Suspension/towing configurations for campers/5th wheels/plows/etc. Different axles ratios, locking and LSD and open. The list goes on. They have a one size fits all approach and that just doesn’t work for this market.
Yep. Availability Is the name of the game with trucks, and is why Ford is forever whooping ass.
Ford has been dealing with competition in this segment for a long time. If they continue to be on their game…I think they’ll be able to easy vanquish the Titan…