Remember the Titan? Nissan Plans New Big Pickup Truck

Last month Chrysler’s Ram 1500 pickup won the North American Truck of the Year award at the Detroit auto show while rival Chevrolet showed off its 2014 Silverado truck , which will arrive in dealerships later this year. At the same show Ford unveiled a concept model that hinted at the next version of its top-selling F-150.

Meanwhile Nissan’s Titan, which first went on sale in 2003, has fallen out of consideration for many truck buyers. Indeed, many thought Nissan would phase it out.

But the company said it is including the coming Titan redesign in its broader strategy of rapid-fire model introductions that began last summer with the launch of the 2013 Altima midsize sedan. Nissan said it has been watching the truck market closely and wants to compete for a bigger slice of the more than 1.6 million-unit segment.

While the company didn’t reveal details of the coming truck, it seems clear that it plans to build heavy-duty, work-oriented models to appeal to commercial and fleet customers. The original Titan was designed for personal-use customers and packed many comfort and convenience features that other makers have since copied.

“As a full-line manufacturer, Nissan aims to be a player in every part of the truck business,” said Pierre Loing, vice president of product and advanced planning and strategy for Nissan Americas. “Our truck teams in Michigan, Arizona, Tennessee and Mississippi are hard at work on a next generation full-size truck line that will expand Titan’s appeal to a broader spectrum of truck buyers, including the all-important skilled trades-buyers.”