In the United States, Ford Motor Company has a solid lead in the full size pickup market. After all, the F-Series has been America’s best selling vehicle for months now but what about the other sized trucks? They may not have the same hold on American’s hearts as the big-bodied haulers, but the compact/midsize truck segment is still strong and for a while, the Ford Ranger was king. Now that the blue oval has officially euthanized the vehicle, there is an opening for top dog and it might appear that Nissan is looking to take its place. “We’re really the beneficiary of Ford pulling out of the segment,” said Al Castignetti, head of Nissan U.S. Sales.
According to an Automotive News article, Nissan sold 51,700 Frontiers during 2011, which was up 28 percent compared to 2010. Successful yes, but it still fell short of the Ranger’s numbers. So with the Ford no longer in production, Nissan is wanting to push their truck into a new frontier. “We felt it was an opportunity to capture market share and we went after it last year, and we went after it without increasing incentives,” said Castignetti. With the future incentives is the truck’s first ad campaign in four years featuring the pickup plowing its way down a snowy mountain. Nissan may have high hopes for the Frontier and might actually pull off their goal. That is, until the next generation U.S.-spec Ranger comes into town.
Source: AutomotiveNews.com
