Nissan has made many highly successful vehicles in recent years, including the revamped 2019 Altima and Skyline. The Titan XD is one of the most popular pickup trucks on the market and even managed to snag the esteemed title of Truck of the Year from the Texas Auto Writers Association. However, Nissan has announced that the Titan XD will undergo some changes next year.

Auto companies around the world currently suffer from high tariff costs and decreasing demand for new vehicles. Nissan recently announced that it would cut more than 10,000 jobs, which will make it even more difficult for the company to stay afloat. The company hopes that its streamlined 2020 truck lineup and elimination of less popular features will help it recover from its losses.

No more regular cab models

Car stocks are at an all-time low and many automakers are cutting costs to make its vehicles more appealing and successful. Most notably, Ford has decided to eliminate a large number of models to concentrate on pickups and SUVs. Nissan has also decided to go this route and has announced that regular cab versions of the Titan and Titan XD will no longer be offered in 2020.

The end of Cummins diesel

The current Titan XD comes with an optional 5.0-liter Cummins diesel engine, capable of 310-hp and 555 lb-ft of torque. Despite these impressive numbers, the Cummins engine failed to deliver in terms of towing performance. It has a maximum towing capacity of 12,760 pounds, while many other vehicles in its class are capable of towing nearly twice as much. 

Despite the premium upcharge, the diesel engine failed to surpass the performance of the standard V8 5.6-liter gas engine, which was ultimately why Nissan decided to cut it from future pickups. While the company didn’t state it directly, some suspect that poor reliability issues associated with the diesel engine may have also been a contributing factor to its demise.

Nissan’s 2020 lineup

The Titan and Titan XD will both make a return in 2020, though these cars will only be available in crew cab or extended cab variants. A work-focused extended cab with the option to have no rear seating may also be in the works. The Nissan Frontier will be also getting a new model in 2020 after a 15-year hiatus and will feature a new V6 engine. 

How Nissan will deal with the competition

Nissan has some steep competition with the U.S truck market.  However, with an increase in truck sales over the past few years, it could be a good strategy to get Nissan back on the road to success. Even though the Titan was met with positive reception, it still couldn’t match the sales numbers of trucks offered by the Big Three automakers.

One of Ford’s most successful pickup trucks is the F-150. Its latest model, the 2020 F-150 Raptor, achieved some of the best performance ratings of the whole lineup. It features a V6 twin-turbo engine capable of 450 hp and a smooth 10-speed automatic transmission with great acceleration.

The Chevy Silverado and Dodge Ram 1500 also got new models for 2019. The newest Silverado has a V8 5.3-liter engine with an output of 355 hp, while the Ram has a V8 5.7-liter engine capable of 395 hp. Toyota has also announced plans for a new Tundra in 2021.

While some may be disheartened at the cuts made by Nissan, it could be one of the key factors in the company’s revival and continued success. The 2020 Titan XD is set to release later this year.