Speaking of which, Nissan compromised the success of the mid-size pickup by not redesigning the workhorse for a long, long time. The second generation of the Navara, codenamed D40 and marketed as the Frontier in the United States, was introduced in 2004. In other words, it’s 15 years old kicking on 16 by the time the next generation enters the scene.
Automotive News reports “the new version is still another 18 months away, according to sources briefed on the company's plans.” Nissan fills a niche no other mid-size truck manufacturer does in this part of the world. “The Frontier is the only pickup that sells, on average, for less than $30,000 in a segment where the average transaction price last year was $32,800.”
On the other hand, neglecting the Frontier for so long allowed Toyota and General Motors to carve out significat parts of the market for themselves. The Tacoma is the best-selling nameplate in the segment right now, but that’s not all. The 2019 Ranger and 2020 Gladiator from Ford and Jeep are certain to shuffle mid-size truck sales once again.
What’s there to look forward to from the 2021 Nissan Frontier? "It makes more sense for Nissan to re-engineer the existing Frontier platform than spend significant money and resources to up-size the Navara platform and develop a new North American truck from it,” believes Ed Kim, an analyst at AutoPacific.
Believe it or not, the Frontier outsold the Titan by nearly 30,000 examples of the breed in 2018 even though the U.S. is a full-size pickup-driven market. Despite its age, the Frontier also happens to be the third best-selling Nissan light truck after the Rogue compact crossover and Murano mid-sizer.
