Ghosn says Nissan may stop Titan production; Chrysler LLC alliance claimed
Thread Starter
Banned
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 1,938
Ghosn says Nissan may stop Titan production; Chrysler LLC alliance claimed
Ghosn says Nissan may stop Titan production; Chrysler LLC alliance claimed
Automotive World; by Glenn Brooks; 17 December, 2007
Nissan officials have denied that the company has made such a decision, but in an interview in the latest issue of Newsweek magazine, the OEM's chief executive, Carlos Ghosn, states that production of the company's full-sized pick-up truck may be axed.
I've no idea if this information is accurate or not but it would be an interesting turn of events.
Automotive World; by Glenn Brooks; 17 December, 2007
Nissan officials have denied that the company has made such a decision, but in an interview in the latest issue of Newsweek magazine, the OEM's chief executive, Carlos Ghosn, states that production of the company's full-sized pick-up truck may be axed.
Originally Posted by Automotive World
Nissan officials have denied that the company has made such a decision, but in an interview in the latest issue of Newsweek magazine, the OEM's chief executive, Carlos Ghosn, states that production of the company's full-sized pick-up truck may be axed.
"The name of the game is going to be more fuel-efficient cars," Ghosn states. "And when you make your product plans for the future, you can't say, 'I've always had a pick-up truck, so I'll just keep improving it.' If you can't make it profitably, you have to get out," he adds.
The Titan, launched in 2003 and facelifted earlier this year, is scheduled to be replaced in 2010. Nissan builds this rival for the Chevrolet Silverado, GMC Sierra, Ford F-150, Dodge Ram and Toyota Tundra at its Canton, Mississippi plant. Although sales have held up relatively well this year despite the continued rises in the price of gasoline, the Titan has a 5.6-litre V8 as standard, while rivals offer six-cylinder base model variants.
The company's own data shows Titan sales totalled 60,961 for the year to the end of November 2007, down 8.8% from 66,617 year-on-year. In the same period of 2007, the company imported 72,159 units of the Murano SUV, its best-selling light truck and a model that has been in its last year of production with the replacement recently unveiled.
In possibly related news, the 15 December edition of Japan's Nikkei newspaper claimed that Nissan and Chrysler LLC are currently in talks to set up a vehicle cross-selling agreement. The story was also carried by The Financial Times in its weekend edition. The London-based broadsheet stated that the alliance would benefit Chrysler in Russia while both partners could gain from plant-utilisation efficiencies in North America.
Under the terms of the alleged agreement, each of the two constructors would sell the other's vehicles under its own brand, the Nikkei reported without naming sources. The cross-selling agreement could also be a prelude to a broader partnership between the two groups, which would involve the sharing of production sites, the paper continued.
With the Michigan-based OEM set to release a new generation Ram full-sized pick-up in 2008, sources have speculated that Ghosn's statement may be a precursor to Dodge building the next Titan for supply to Nissan North America.
Under an existing deal, Chrysler LLC is set to manufacture a version of its Chrysler Town & Country/Dodge Grand Caravan minivans for Volkswagen of America from 2008. The company already builds a rebadged Dodge Dakota mid-sized pick-up for Mitsubishi, while Nissan is to supply Suzuki with a rival model, based on its Frontier pick-up, which is also US-built, from next year.
"The name of the game is going to be more fuel-efficient cars," Ghosn states. "And when you make your product plans for the future, you can't say, 'I've always had a pick-up truck, so I'll just keep improving it.' If you can't make it profitably, you have to get out," he adds.
The Titan, launched in 2003 and facelifted earlier this year, is scheduled to be replaced in 2010. Nissan builds this rival for the Chevrolet Silverado, GMC Sierra, Ford F-150, Dodge Ram and Toyota Tundra at its Canton, Mississippi plant. Although sales have held up relatively well this year despite the continued rises in the price of gasoline, the Titan has a 5.6-litre V8 as standard, while rivals offer six-cylinder base model variants.
The company's own data shows Titan sales totalled 60,961 for the year to the end of November 2007, down 8.8% from 66,617 year-on-year. In the same period of 2007, the company imported 72,159 units of the Murano SUV, its best-selling light truck and a model that has been in its last year of production with the replacement recently unveiled.
In possibly related news, the 15 December edition of Japan's Nikkei newspaper claimed that Nissan and Chrysler LLC are currently in talks to set up a vehicle cross-selling agreement. The story was also carried by The Financial Times in its weekend edition. The London-based broadsheet stated that the alliance would benefit Chrysler in Russia while both partners could gain from plant-utilisation efficiencies in North America.
Under the terms of the alleged agreement, each of the two constructors would sell the other's vehicles under its own brand, the Nikkei reported without naming sources. The cross-selling agreement could also be a prelude to a broader partnership between the two groups, which would involve the sharing of production sites, the paper continued.
With the Michigan-based OEM set to release a new generation Ram full-sized pick-up in 2008, sources have speculated that Ghosn's statement may be a precursor to Dodge building the next Titan for supply to Nissan North America.
Under an existing deal, Chrysler LLC is set to manufacture a version of its Chrysler Town & Country/Dodge Grand Caravan minivans for Volkswagen of America from 2008. The company already builds a rebadged Dodge Dakota mid-sized pick-up for Mitsubishi, while Nissan is to supply Suzuki with a rival model, based on its Frontier pick-up, which is also US-built, from next year.
Last edited by Robert_Nashville; Dec 18, 2007 at 10:21 AM.
...I was afraid they'd slowly drop out of the "BIG 3" category.....seems this may be the start of that.
Registered User
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 2,979
Oh, I forgot to mention the best part...
Buying a re-badged Chrysler.
Excellent.
Maybe GM will be nice and let Toyota re-badge a Silverado so that Toyota can actually have a truck to sell also.
Then Ford will give Honda a truck...
And maybe Terex will give BMW a truck...
Buying a re-badged Chrysler.
Excellent.
Maybe GM will be nice and let Toyota re-badge a Silverado so that Toyota can actually have a truck to sell also.
Then Ford will give Honda a truck...
And maybe Terex will give BMW a truck...
Thread Starter
Banned
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 1,938
I think there will always be a market for a full-sized truck based SUV, especialy in the luxury end, but that market is likely going to continue to shrink - any manufacturer who doesn't act accordingly will not like the consequences.
Registered User
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 1,897
From: Greenville, SC
Last I read, the Titan/Armada/Infinity QX were profitable due to platform sharing.
This would be nothing more than GM/Issuzu, Ford/Mazda, Dodge/Mitsubishi, right? Previously, there has only been sharing among small/midsize trucks (except Silverado/Sierra). Be interesting to see how a Ram would look reskinned as a Titan.
This would be nothing more than GM/Issuzu, Ford/Mazda, Dodge/Mitsubishi, right? Previously, there has only been sharing among small/midsize trucks (except Silverado/Sierra). Be interesting to see how a Ram would look reskinned as a Titan.
Registered User
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 1,958
From: Kansas City, MO
Isn't this all just part of doing business in today's world? Why not buy a re-badged Chrysler? After all, Chrysler already has a re-badged Mitsubishi and two mildly re-engineered Mercedes as Chryslers. I'm sure that Cerberus are looking at ANY way they can cut costs at Chrysler right now. and if Nissan could trade some car expertise and platform sharing (which might make up for the lost Mercedes hardware) for a replacement Titan, why not look into it? Now, this is provided that it's a better transformation than the extremely forlorn Mitsubishi Raider. Although the Dakota is way uglier than the Ram to begin with.
Registered User
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 2,979
Isn't this all just part of doing business in today's world? Why not buy a re-badged Chrysler? After all, Chrysler already has a re-badged Mitsubishi and two mildly re-engineered Mercedes as Chryslers. I'm sure that Cerberus are looking at ANY way they can cut costs at Chrysler right now. and if Nissan could trade some car expertise and platform sharing (which might make up for the lost Mercedes hardware) for a replacement Titan, why not look into it? Now, this is provided that it's a better transformation than the extremely forlorn Mitsubishi Raider. Although the Dakota is way uglier than the Ram to begin with.
Registered User
Joined: Jan 2000
Posts: 10,285
From: Albany, NY
Titan has been a sales flop. This makes sense for Nissan. Why invest big money into a vehicle that is competing in a very very competitive segment that is also a shrinking segment. They would probably be better off making a 4cyl diesel for the Frontier. I see the pickup market going back to the size it was in the 80's in the next 5-7 years.
Registered User
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 1,870
I actually like the Titan unlike the Tundra.
Either Nissan throws the towel in now or stays patient cause this is a VERY tough market/segment to crack. I don't know if a rebadged Ram is the solution cause in that case...why don't i just buy a Ram??
Either Nissan throws the towel in now or stays patient cause this is a VERY tough market/segment to crack. I don't know if a rebadged Ram is the solution cause in that case...why don't i just buy a Ram??
