Nissan reverses course and drops the Cummins Diesel Titan XD pickup while the Big Three pickup manufacturers - Ford, General Motors and Ram Trucks - are banking on diesel engine powertrains for their future 1/2-ton offerings. The big news this past year has been the proliferation of diesel engines in the 1/2-ton pickup market segments.
· Ford offers a 3.0-liter Power Stroke turbodiesel V6 for its F-150 ·
· GM has introduced a 3.0-liter Duramax for its Chevrolet Silverado 1500 ·and GMC Sierra 1500
· Ram Trucks have been making press with its Ram 1500 3.0-liter V-6 EcoDiesel
Diesel engines have long dominated the 3/4-ton pickup market due to their towing capability, but around the 2013 to 2014 model years diesel options began to emerge in the 1/2-ton pickup category for a different reason - fuel economy. Typically, a diesel engine is more efficient than it's similar sized gasoline equivalent. In the past, this was often offset by an increased purchase price associated with the diesel.
With recent advancements, the trend for diesels in the 1/2-ton pickup market has been to achieve impressive fuel economy numbers, often topping 30 mpg for the first time in this segment. With the Ford F-Series pickup, Chevrolet Silverado pickup and Ram pickup representing the three best-selling vehicles in America, the evolving clean diesel technology is on an upward trajectory. We are also witnessing growing acceptance of clean diesel technology in sedans, SUVs and vans.
Despite this growing trend, Nissan is travelling a different path. The company is discontinuing the Cummins Diesel Titan XD pickup according to Automotive News. This may be due in part to the fact that the Nissan Titan XD currently occupies an awkward spot between a full-size and heavy-duty truck.
Nissan intended to blur the line between light-duty and heavy-duty pickups when it rolled out the 2016 Titan XD crew cab by offering it with a Cummins 5.0L V8 turbo diesel rated at 310 hp and 555-ft.-lb. of torque. The idea was that the new truck combined the capability of a heavy-duty hauler with the drivability and affordability of a light-duty pickup.
The Cummins engine used for the Titan XD was specifically designed for light-duty use with compacted graphite iron (CGI) engine block, aluminum heads and composite valve covers to reduce weight.The 5.0-liter Cummins V8 Turbo Diesel equipped XD offered a maximum payload of 2,490 lbs. (when properly equipped) and a maximum towing rating of 12,830 lbs. (when properly equipped).
This doesn't quite measure up to the towing and payload performance numbers posted by the 3/4-ton the heavy-duty pickup segment. It also falls short in terms of fuel economy for the current 1/2-ton pickup offerings.
According to Automotive News, Titan claimed 1.5% of the full-size pickup market in the first six months of 2019. Nissan will also be discontinuing the single cab version of the Titan Nissan will also be discontinuing the single cab version of the Titan. This reflects the reality that the majority of all pickups sold in the U.S. market are crew and extended cabs.Despite simplifying the model lineup, the Nissan Titan will continue to compete in the full-size market moving forward.
