Nissan Titan Heads to China

As part of Nissan's previously stated desire to expand into global markets, the automaker will make the full-size Titan pickup truck available to other countries looking for American style and power.

According to Automotive News (subscription required), Nissan wants to make the half-ton Titan available for global export. First stop? China, where having a big American pickup is likely to be a status symbol.

The North American market has been one of the few places in the world for significant full-size pickup sales, but if Nissan plays this right, that could change. Australia, the Middle East and Russia — where more demanding terrain and weather conditions exist — could be the perfect markets for a larger, hard-working, full-size pickup. Other truckmakers, such as Ford with its F-150 Raptor, have found exporting pickups quite profitable. However, these truckmakers typically target countries like Saudi Arabia or the United Arab Emirates, where citizens can afford the extra cost.

Most other countries use mid-size pickups for commercial and fleet use, with capacities limited to 1 metric ton of payload along with restricted towing capacity.

We should note that while the half-ton Titan and heavier-duty Titan XD are showing huge sales gains this year — up almost 200 percent year over year — they are still minor players in the full-size pickup truck class.

We expect to see the smaller players in the full-size class, like Nissan, reach outside the highly competitive U.S. marketplace as they slowly grow their presence here. Whether that means we'll see more optional equipment choices for the Titans down the road — maybe a rainforest suspension or tundra weather package? — remains to be seen. Our guess is a Warrior Package would do pretty well overseas. (www.chinatrucks.com)

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