Rumors have been swirling about an Xterra revival for years, and now it’s official
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- The new Xterra could land with a hybridized V6 powertrain with up to 75 miles of electric range.
- Underpinning the new model will be a new body-on-frame platform shared with other Nissans.
- The company is also readying a fourth-generation Rogue in 2027, as well as a new Infiniti QX50.
Nissan needs some compelling new models in its line-up to reverse its fortunes, and while it remains in a precarious financial position, it has pledged to release several new models. One of these will be an all-new version of the Xterra, a nameplate that has been retired since 2015.
During a recent national dealer meeting in Las Vegas attended by roughly 2,500 people, Nissan chief executive Ivan Espinosa said the new Xterra will launch in 2028 and like its predecessor, be an affordable and rugged midsize SUV. The company did not announce any technical specifications for the model, although they did briefly show a teaser image of the next-gen Xterra, complete with an upright grille and “squarish” headlights.
Read: Xterra’s Return May Trigger A Whole New Wave Of Rugged Nissan SUVs
Speaking with Auto News, unnamed sources understand the Xterra will be based around a body-on-frame platform that will also underpin a redesigned Frontier and also serve as the base for updated Pathfinder and Infiniti QX60 models.
Dealers are confident the new model can be a success, thanks to strong demand for vehicles like the Ford Bronco, Jeep Wrangler, and Toyota Land Cruiser. “These are vehicles that every dealer is selling and making good money on,” one dealer said.
Nissan is expected to sell the new Xterra with a range-extender V6 engine and a battery pack large enough to give it up to 75 miles (121 km) of all-electric range. It’ll be built at the brand’s plant in Canton, Mississippi.
Nissan isn’t just working on a new Xterra either. During the same event, it announced that work has begun on a fourth-generation Rogue, expected to arrive in 2027. It was previewed during the same dealer meeting and reportedly features a different V-shaped grille as well as a full-width light bar at the rear. The new Rogue will be offered with the third generation of Nissan’s e-Power system and spawn an Infiniti version badged the QX50.
New iterations of the Nissan Sentra and Infiniti Q50 are also in the works. The first of these could arrive as early as next year.
“We are laser-focused on product [and] we are just getting started,” Nissan Americas chairman Christian Meunier said. “We have done a better job of planning, making sure the right cars are in the right place.”
