- Nissan’s future plans include Rogue Hybrid, Xterra SUVs.
- Infiniti will launch three new models by 2028, including a hybrid SUV.
- Nissan plans to cut the number of models offered globally by 20%.
Nissan has big plans for the immediate future, including the return of the Xterra SUV to the North American market, the brand announced from its home headquarters in Yokohama, Japan, on Tuesday morning.
In the press briefing, Nissan detailed its “Mobility Intelligence for Everyday Life” with plans that include a streamlined product lineup, AI technology in its driver-assistance systems, and a renewed commitment to its key market in North America.
Nissan aims to drive forward with at least three planned hybrid models in the U.S. between it and its Infiniti luxury brand, and five new models total by 2028.
“Across the Americas, our focus on execution is making the region a key contributor to Nissan’s turnaround, driven by both revenue growth and disciplined cost reduction,” Christian Meunier, chairman, Nissan Americas, said in a statement.
Meunier boasted significant growth in the U.S. since August 2025, indicating that Nissan’s turnaround is on track after years of missteps in the wake of the sensational exit and criminal trial of its fugitive former CEO Carlos Ghosn.
The sweeping plans follow years of troubled waters that included the shuttering of factories and laying off 15% of its global workforce in 2025, as well as failed talks of a merger with Honda and rumors of possible bankruptcy.
Nissan Xterra SUV Returns
Nissan’s new vision includes a hybrid powertrain in its bestselling Rogue compact SUV, as well as new V6 and V6 hybrid versions of the resurrected Xterra SUV, which returns as a proper body-in-frame SUV after it was discontinued in 2015.
The timing tracks with a surge in retro-styled, boxy SUVs with marketing aimed at the adventuresome. In actuality, most of those models are built with unibody construction, instead of the more durable, off-road capable, and rougher-riding truck platform such as the Xterra’s.
The Xterra’s hybrid system is designed for “future frame‑based vehicles, serving customers requiring greater capability and long‑range confidence,” Nissan explained in the press release.
That could apply to a Nissan Frontier midsize pickup truck or other iterations of current models, such as the Nissan Armada full-size SUV.
Details on the V6 hybrid have not been disclosed. It will likely be similar to the 2027 Rogue Hybrid, which uses its engine as a generator to fuel two electric motors. The Rogue Hybrid pairs to a turbocharged 4-cylinder, whereas the Xterra’s pairs to a V6. In either case, the series hybrid system promises to be more powerful, more efficient, and smoother than Nissan’s innovative but inconsistent variable compression turbo engine currently in the lineup.
The new Xterra is not expected until late 2028.
Despite a plug-in hybrid version of the Rogue that launched this year — derived from its partner Mitsubishi and the Outlander PHEV — Nissan and Infiniti lacked a hybrid powertrain option at least for the past six years. The launch of both the 4-cylinder and V6 hybrids enables Nissan to scale out such options on shared platforms, so you could opt for a gas-only or a hybrid-powered Rogue or Xterra with no other differences in the model.
Infiniti Plans 5 New Models
The platform and powertrain sharing leads to an infusion of product for Infiniti, Nissan’s flagging luxury brand. Now down to just two models, the best-selling QX60 3-row SUV and the QX80 full-size SUV, Infiniti will expand with a QX65 SUV this spring, as well as a sport sedan, two body-on-frame SUVs, and a hybrid compact SUV related to the Rogue Hybrid.
The QX65 is essentially a sportier-looking version of the QX60 but with two rows of seats instead of three. Evoking the sporty, rear-drive FX35 from Infiniti’s past, the QX65 copies German automakers such as BMW in rounding off the roofline in the way of the X6 to the boxier X5.
The return of a sport sedan would harken to Infiniti’s launch in the U.S. in 1989 with the Q45 performance sedan, feeding a reputation that buoyed Infiniti in the earlier part of this century.
The lack of a compact SUV, which is the most popular model by volume for car shoppers, might be Infiniti’s most glaring absence. A hybrid version of the discontinued QX50, or an entirely new model, would certainly stand out. The Acura RDX, Lincoln Nautilus, and Volvo XC40 lack hybrid options without a plug, leaving the Lexus NX to stand alone as a hybrid compact SUV.
Additional Nissan Plans
Nissan will also be launching a Juke EV for Europe, which seems like the perfect fit for the quirky crossover that was offered in the US from 2011 to 2017. The Skyline sport sedan also returns, possibly as a 14th-generation iteration, to Japan only. That name carries a lot of historical cachet for the brand.
Additionally, Nissan will trim its global model lineup by 20%, from 56 to 45 models. Nissan didn’t detail which models would get the axe, but expect low-volume enthusiast cars to be on the block.
Nissan deepened its commitment to AI by planning to integrate it into vehicle control and safety systems across 90% of its lineup in the long term. The technology, meant to “enhance both mobility and time spent in transit,” starts with the Nissan Elgrand this summer. Nissan says the Elgrand, a minivan not currently sold in the U.S., will have autonomous driving technology from the starting point to the end point of a destination by the end of 2027.
Once at the vanguard of mass-produced electric vehicles with the 2010 launch of the Nissan Leaf, the brand won’t be abandoning EV plans, even as it canceled the Ariya in North America. Responding to market conditions, Nissan plans to keep scaling EVs while developing solid-state batteries and storage systems for wireless communication from vehicles to other vehicles, infrastructure, and more connected car things (V2X).
