Get Hotcars Premium. Start your free trial today
In 2020, and to everyone's surprise, Nissan discontinued the Cummins diesel engine on the Titan XD.
In 2020, Nissan made headlines when it announced that it will discontinue the Titan XD with the Cummins diesel engine. This surprised Nissan fans, especially when the truck with the special diesel engine was inaugurated in 2015. Given the short lifespan, many wondered what brought the demise of the truck.
As Jalopnik reported, the 2016 Titan XD had an optional Cummins 5.0-liter V8 turbo diesel engine capable of generating 310 horsepower and 555 pound-feet of torque. Eco-warriors would have loved this engine because Cummins has achieved near-zero oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and particulate matter (PM) emissions with it. Additionally, the advanced ceramic glow plug system ensured that the truck would start without too much fuzz, even in freezing weather.
Related: Here’s Why The 2021 Nissan Titan Is A Mixed Bag
Nissan tried to exceed the customers’ expectations and come up with a unique product, but instead of luring prospective buyers, it pushed them away. This happened mostly because Nissan failed to differentiate itself from competitors. Moreover, it didn’t understand the needs of the niche consumers that buy these trucks.
Accordingly, the model appeared an expensive, bulky gas guzzler. Considering that there were other trucks on the market that had better fuel economy and towed more than the Titan, buyers didn’t see any value in this model. Another issue was that although the Titan was assembled in Canton, Mississippi, Nissan made several components overseas; thus, prospective buyers feared they will have to pay a higher cost for a damaged or worn out part. Naturally, delays were also considered, given the tariffs and high transportation costs that were in place.
Furthermore, Nissan failed to promote the Titan XD. The branding strategy failed because there was no differentiation from rivals and Nissan failed to communicate to its audience, the selling points of this truck. Looking back, an effective communication strategy would have focused on co-branding. By putting the partnership with American engine-maker Cummins at the forefront, Nissan could have taken advantage of Cummins’ positive brand image.
While most drivers agree that Cummins engines are of superior quality, several others highlight that the 5.0 Cummins engine inaugurated in 2015 and added to the Nissan Titan XD came with some mechanical issues.
“The expensive cost of adding the 5.0 Cummins to the Titan, combined with various engine issues, and the limited towing benefit over gas trucks caused the 5.0 Cummins to be retired after the 2019 model year,” says Diesel IQ.
The digital publication “dedicated to the service, repair and maintenance of the Power Stoke and Cummins Diesel engines” also highlights the most common 5.0 Cummins engine problems that were associated with the Nissan Titan XD trucks. And it lists DEF pump failure, EGR valve and cooler failure, problematic transmission, Bosch CP4.2 fuel pump failure, and turbocharger failure. According to Diesel IQ, around 12,000 2016 Titan XD’s were recalled for potential turbocharger lubrication failures.
Related: Here's Everything We Know About The 2022 Nissan Titan XD
There is no simple answer to this question, and it is highly doubtful that only a problem brought the demise of the Nissan Titan XD. At this point, we can only speculate and guess that sales were lackluster, the marketing strategy failed, consumer expectations were not met, and perhaps even the business partnership between Nissan and Cummins went sour.
When pressed on the partnership issue by Jalopnik, both Nissan and Cummins offered bland answers that didn’t communicate the desire or need for future collaborations.
In regard to sales, Titan, overall didn’t perform too well in the U.S. market. In 2016, Nissan sold only 21,880 Titan units, according to data from Good Car Bad Car. Meanwhile, in 2017, Nissan sold in total 52,924 Titan units and in 2018, 50,459 units. These numbers include Titan and Titan XD. Just to put things into perspective, in 2021, Ram sold 569,388 pickups. This represents an increase of 1 percent from 2020, when Ram sold 563,676 pickups. Meanwhile, Ford F-Series sales in the U.S. in the first quarter of 2022 reached 140,701 units, which represents a 31 percent drop from Q1 2021 when Ford sold 203,797 units.
Overall, the failure to differentiate the Titan XD from its rivals was probably the biggest problem because it affected sales and profit margins. Elsewhere, this failure brought the mismanagement of customer loyalty. Instead of building loyalty and boosting brand awareness, Nissan failed to keep up with customer expectations and lost important branding opportunities. Considering that in the past Nissan had several highly-successful marketing campaigns, and it released brilliant video content, this failure is even more impressive. In the future, Nissan should consider inviting another celebrity like Brie Larson to appear in the brand's ads, but this time it should be for the Titan models.
Eugenia Akhim is a luxury car aficionado. She naturally gravitates towards the legendary 911 and the classic Ferrari because they are fun to drive and have a killer aesthetic. In her column, expect to read more about turbo-powered vehicles.