(March 30, 2024) ATSUGI, Japan — Nissan and Mitsubishi are teaming up on U.S. products. Nissan will launch its first North America plug-in hybrid, based on a system engineered by Mitsubishi. And Mitsubishi will launch a local product using Nissan's electric vehicle technology, according to Automotive News.

Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida outlined the first major cross-company vehicle collaboration between the Japanese companies aimed at the U.S. market. Meanwhile, Nissan and Mitsubishi will jointly develop a next-generation pickup to be produced in Mexico. Full-electric and plug-in hybrid versions of that truck are under consideration.

The 1-ton pickup would likely land as a successor to the Nissan Frontier. That vehicle could also expand Mitsubishi's local lineup with the midsize pickup that U.S. dealers have clamored for. Mitsubishi's Triton pickup is sold overseas, but the carmaker is stymied in bringing it stateside because the Triton faces a stiff 25 percent tariff on imported light trucks.

Building such a pickup in Mexico would allow shipment to the U.S. and Latin America.

Nissan and Mitsubishi  have been bound in a corporate alliance since 2016. That is when former Nissan Chairman Carlos Ghosn snatched a controlling 34 percent stake in Mitsubishi after the smaller Japanese competitor was embroiled in an emissions cheating scandal.

Source: Automotive News