It will be released under the name Nissan Frontier, and will also appear with the Mitsubishi nameplate
Nissan and Mitsubishi are expanding their partnership with new models, including a new SUV pickup truck. Automotive News writes that it could end up being the next-generation Nissan Frontier, but it could also bring a Mitsubishi-badged pickup truck back to the States for the first time since 2009. Then Mitsubishi, in partnership with Dodge, built the Raider based on the Dodge Dakota, but the model only lasted until 2011.
Mitsubishi already has a pretty cool pickup truck called the Triton. But in the States, Triton is forbidden fruit thanks to the so-called Chicken Tax. This tax imposes a 25 percent duty on light trucks imported into the United States, but does not apply to vehicles manufactured in North America. The Nissan-Mitsubishi partnership will see production take place in Mexico, resulting in a pickup truck with hybrid and electric powertrains. Thus, by being free of tariffs, Mitsubishi will be able to obtain a competitively priced pickup truck that can compete with Ford, Ram, General Motors, Toyota and its Japanese partner Nissan.
Motor1 contacted Mitsubishi in hopes of getting more information about the future pickup truck. A spokesman said the automaker «always considers working with Nissan»but declined to comment.