Australia wants Nissan Titan

Nissan says its American-made Titan full-size pick-up has sparked plenty of interest in Australia, but still won't confirm nor rule out whether the big dual-cab bruiser will ever be officially sold Down Under.

The Nissan Titan was first introduced in the US back in 2004, but received a generational update that saw the overhauled pick-up rolled out from 2016.

Nissan's global LCV boss, Ashwani Gupta, first signalled the brand's intentions to expand the Titan's footprint beyond its North American home more than 12 months ago, but the brand is remaining tight-lipped as to whether or not we'll ever see the model as a full factory import here in Australia.

Speaking in Morocco at a recent off-road LCV drive event, which showcased Nissan's Titan, Navara (including off-road-kitted Navara N-Guard AT32), Terra and Patrol, Nissan Chief Product Specialist for frame-based SUVs and pick-ups, Pedro Deanda, reiterated that Nissan was keen to introduce the Titan to markets beyond the US and Canada.

"The Titan is a US car developed for the US," he said.

"When you look at this segment globally, 99 per cent of it is in the US. Now we're in the US and Canada, the intention is to take the Titan beyond those markets."

While Deanda refused to be drawn on what exact markets Nissan might target with the Titan, he also wouldn't rule out one drive format other the other.

"It could be in left-hand drive markets, it could be in right-hand drive," he continued, before admitting that the bulk of the interest in the Titan had come from two geographic areas in particular: Australia and the Middle East.

Deanda remarked how the first wave of media to attend the drive event in Morocco had highlighted a certain theme regarding the potential introduction of a new model to a new market.

"What's interesting about these activities, is that we've had the US media and the European media in the first wave [of attendees], and the Europeans were driving the Titan and they were saying, 'Oh, this is nice', and then the US media were driving the Terra and saying, 'Oh, this is nice – is it coming to the US?'" he said.

"We all want what we cannot have, but to be frank in Australia there is a customer interest in vehicles like Titan, and also maybe in the Middle East, maybe in more markets."

Deanda did say that the Titan was not a logical proposition for Europe or Japan, where its sheer size is at odds with the nature of the roads, although Nissan would examine any market where it felt there was enough potential volume, need and opportunity to justify a business case.

The Nissan Titan is available in North America in single-cab, king-cab and crew-cab formats across a number of trim grades, as is the heavier-duty Titan XD.

At the drive event in Morocco a Titan Pro4X was placed at journalists' disposal, the grade featuring a number of features to enhance its off-road performance, such as Bilstein shocks, all-terrain tyres, and underbody protection.

The Titan truly is as American as apple pie, having been designed in California, engineered in Michigan, tested in Arizona and produced in Mississippi. It's available in 4x2 and 4x4 drivetrains.

The Titan is produced on Nissan's commercial NV or F-Alpha chassis, which also shares a significant amount of DNA with the Y62 Patrol chassis (or Armada, as it's known in the US).

Five trim grades are available – S, SV, Pro4X, SL, and Platinum Reserve. The Titan comes with a choice of either a 5.6-litre petrol V8 or a 5.0-litre Cummins diesel V8, with outputs of 291kW/534Nm and 230kW/752Nm respectively, mated to a seven-speed automatic transmission.

According to Nissan Senior Manager – Product Planning North America, Brent Hagan (pictured), the Titan represents a huge opportunity for the brand in the US.

"There are 17 million new vehicles sold each year in the US, of which two million are full-size pickups – it's the second-largest segment in the country," he said.

"In the United States, the Titan has to cover everyone from your basic contractor, all the way up to your luxury customer that might be considering moving out of a BMW or a Mercedes-Benz."

In the US, Titan pricing begins from just over $US31,000 ($A42,880) for a Titan S single-cab to $US65,000 ($A89,910) for a top-grade, diesel-engined Titan XD Platinum Reserve.

Here in Australia, specialist importer SCD American Vehicles offers right-hand drive conversions of the Titan from $107,990 to $138,990, plus on-roads.

For that not insignificant sum, however, buyers are getting one super-capable vehicle, especially when it comes to towing. The Titan XD crew cab, for example, boasts a payload of 907kg, but more importantly has a braked towing capacity of 4500kg.

Add in a swathe of towing-specific features, and it's ideal for hauling large caravans, boats, horse floats or fifth-wheel trailers.

When asked if Nissan would see benefit in taking a leadership role in introducing the Titan to Australia – a market where no manufacturer presently sells a factory-imported full-size pickup – Deanda was quick to reply.

"That tells you about the challenge that there is to have a vehicle like this," he said.

So, at this stage, it seems it would be far too premature to go speaking with bank managers or measuring up the garage.

"I can't tell you a timeframe or to which markets it will go," Deanda told carsales.com.au in Morocco.

"Up until now the focus has been on launching in the US; that is now done so it is now keeping the vehicle competitive in that market and exploring these opportunities to grow."