- Nissan Americas chairman Christian Meunier confirmed to Bloomberg that the Xterra off-road SUV will return in 2028.
- The confirmation matches an earlier report from a Nissan dealer's meeting claiming the Xterra's return would follow a slew of releases through spring 2027.
- The revived Xterra will be built at Nissan's production facility in Canton, Mississippi, which means the automaker is pausing plans to build an EV SUV in the United States.
Previous reports all but assured it, but the news is finally official: the Nissan Xterra is making a comeback. Christian Meunier, the chairman of Nissan Americas, confirmed the news to Bloomberg. The exact timeline for its revival hasn't been laid out yet, but Meunier confirmed that the off-road SUV will come back sometime in 2028.
The timeline matches up with a previous report from a Nissan dealer's meeting, which revealed plans for the automaker to release 20 new and updated models in the U.S. and Canada by spring 2027, with the Xterra following the year after. "The dealers are super excited about it because it's going to be a great example of Nissan coming back," Meunier told Bloomberg. It will be built at Nissan's facility in Canton, Mississippi, which means the brand is also putting previous plans for a U.S.-built EV SUV on hold.
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Despite Meunier's words to Bloomberg, the company is still keeping its cards close to its chest. A representative for Nissan provided the following statement to Car and Driver regarding the Xterra: "We are considering the revival of the Xterra nameplate as a hybrid SUV, with a potential launch in 2028. Production is being evaluated for our Canton, Mississippi, facility. The return of Xterra would represent a strategic move to strengthen our position in the mid-size off-road SUV segment."
Exactly what type of hybrid the Xterra will be remains a mystery. An Automotive News report from August suggests that the SUV will be powered by a hybrid V-6 powertrain. Still, given the relatively short timeline, we expect to learn more about Nissan's plans for the Xterra soon, including how it will be priced. For now, we've got Meunier telling Bloomberg that the model will "bring scale back to the [Canton] plant and get the costs at the right level."
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Jack Fitzgerald’s love for cars stems from his as yet unshakable addiction to Formula 1.
After a brief stint as a detailer for a local dealership group in college, he knew he needed a more permanent way to drive all the new cars he couldn’t afford and decided to pursue a career in auto writing. By hounding his college professors at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, he was able to travel Wisconsin seeking out stories in the auto world before landing his dream job at Car and Driver. His new goal is to delay the inevitable demise of his 2010 Volkswagen Golf.
