Back in 2021, in the heat of the Jeep Wrangler and Ford Bronco fight, Nissan dealerships were reportedly sending letters to the corporate office begging them to revive the Xterra. It was a battle dealers were keen to be a part of, especially since the Xterra was one of the few off-road-ready SUVs of its time to have a supercharger as an option.

Letters from representatives of the United States dealer board flooded Ashwani Gupta’s desk, Nissan’s COO at the time. Back then, he wasn’t completely against the idea. What he told the dealer group was short, sweet, and to the point: “We’ve talked about the Xterra, but nothing’s been decided,” reported The Drive.

While it wasn’t a hard “no,” it wasn’t a “yes,” either. So, dealers sat on their hands, waiting for the company’s next move. And for years, there wouldn’t be one. Until now.

A chairperson says Nissan is ‘working on’ a new generation of Xterra

Christian Meunier, a chairperson at the company, told Automotive News that Nissan’s been trying to figure out a way to make the Xterra work for some time now. If the name sounds familiar, it’s because he used to be Jeep’s CEO.

“If I could bring a car tomorrow, it would be the Xterra. We’re working on it. We’ll find a way,” he told the outlet. Drawing from his experience at Jeep, he told the outlet there are some solid plans for the next generation (if the company call put out its several financial fires, first).

For instance, he said he wants it to be a body-on-frame construction, mid-sized, truck-based SUV. Meunier also mentioned the new generation must look and feel like the 2000 model year. Most importantly, he said it’s important that it stays affordable.

“I can overland in the desert for the weekend, or have a long trip. It will be something cool [and] cost-competitive,” he said.

It could be a hybrid or an EV, they’re not sure yet

Because the company has a lot of pots on the stove, Muenier couldn’t give any sort of timeline as to when we’d see a new generation of Xterra. If anything, it’s a few years away.

Because it could be such a long time before anything actually moves past the talking stage, Meunier said it likely won’t be gas-powered. Instead, he’s thinking it’ll take a page from the Ramcharger, having an EV battery but a gas-burning range extender.

“It gives you the opportunity to have the electric [driving] experience for 70 to 100 miles, and a 600-mile driving range combined. Maybe an Xterra should be like that,” he said.