Nissan and Mitsubishi team on pickups, EVs for North America

Nissan last week announced a new strategy that calls for the launch of 30 new vehicles worldwide over the next three years, seven of which are bound for the U.S.

The strategy also calls for intensified work with partners, particularly fellow members of the Renault Nissan Mitsubishi Alliance.

Automotive News (subscription required) reported last week that Nissan will collaborate with Mitsubishi on several new vehicles for North America, including a jointly developed one-ton pickup truck that will be built in Mexico. It isn’t clear whether the pickup is one of the seven vehicles Nissan will launch in the U.S. in the next three years.

Mitsubishi hasn’t announced any new products for the U.S. but production of the pickup in Mexico would enable the automaker to sell it here without the steep tariffs that its current Triton midsize pickup would face if sold here.

The new pickup truck will likely launch with gas engines but Automotive News reported that plug-in hybrid and electric powertrains are being considered. Both Nissan and Mitsubishi have said separately they are working on electric trucks, with Nissan even rolling out the Surf-Out electric truck concept in 2021.

In other segments, Nissan will launch its first plug-in hybrid in the U.S. using powertrain technology sourced from Mitsubishi. In return, Mitsubishi will gain EV technology from Nissan, according to Automotive News.

Nissan and Honda also announced in March that they are investigating a partnership in the areas of EVs and software development, though no details on potential products were mentioned.

Cash-strapped EV startup Fisker was also rumored to be in talks with Nissan about collaboration on an electric truck for the U.S., though those talks are no longer thought to be happening. Fisker previously said it was in talks with a major OEM about an investment deal, thought to be Nissan, but in a regulatory filing last week the California company said it was no longer in talks with the OEM.