Nissan's Future Is All About Hybrids. The Rogue and Xterra Are Only the Beginning

EVs aren't part of Nissan's future product blitz

written by Steven Ewing
edited by Kathleen Clonts
4/13/2026
Share:

What's happening: Nissan's future product strategy is all about hybrids, including the new Rogue, Xterra and upcoming Infiniti SUVs.
Why it matters: Nissan — like many other automakers — are moving away from large-scale EV ambitions.
Edmunds says: Upcoming products like the new Rogue Hybrid and Xterra Hybrid will be hugely important in the U.S. market.

Nissan's history with electric cars is well known; the Leaf is widely regarded as the first mass-produced EV. But as the company looks to its future, EVs are taking a back seat to hybrids — a trend that's not unique to Nissan but indicative of a larger industry shift.

The Japanese automaker has two big hybrid initiatives in its near-term future product plans. First is the E-Power hybrid system that'll make its way into the new Rogue SUV (pictured above and below). We recently sampled this tech in a European-market Qashqai and came away impressed; because the SUV's wheels are only powered by an electric motor, E-Power delivers the sort of quick, instant acceleration people enjoy with fully electric vehicles. In the E-Power system, a 1.5-liter turbocharged engine is onboard simply to act as a generator, powering the car's onboard lithium-ion battery.

The other big Nissan hybrid news is a powertrain designed for "frame-based vehicles," according to the company, meaning trucks and SUVs. Nissan confirmed the new Xterra SUV — which will ride on a body-on-frame truck platform — will be offered with a V6-based hybrid engine. This is a welcome change; the Xterra was originally expected to be a fully electric SUV.

Nissan says the V6 hybrid will serve "customers requiring greater capability and long-range confidence."

UPDATE: Nissan Confirms Xterra Pricing Will Start Below $40,000

Infiniti — Nissan's luxury division — will also get in on the hybrid love. The aforementioned E-Power tech will be offered in an Infiniti-badged compact luxury crossover. This could be an all-new vehicle, but we expect it to be a fancy version of the new Rogue hybrid. Infiniti doesn't currently offer anything smaller than the QX60 and QX65 midsize SUVs, so having a compact crossover in the luxury space will be huge for this struggling luxury brand.

Infiniti will also get two new large luxury SUVs and — you guessed it — those'll be hybrids too. These could be built on the same architecture as the Xterra, meaning a V6 hybrid powertrain would be used.

Nissan's future U.S. product strategy "will be reinforced through the next-generation Rogue Hybrid E-Power, all-new V6 and V6 hybrid body-on-frame models led by the return of the Xterra and continued use of V6 options in [full-size] SUVs," the company said in a statement. "EV investments will remain disciplined and responsive to market conditions and policy evolution."

by Steven Ewing

Steven Ewing is Edmunds' director of editorial content. An automotive journalist for more than half of his life, Ewing's been on staff at Winding Road magazine, Autoblog, Motor1.com, CNET, and he was the U.S. correspondent for Top Gear magazine. He's also contributed to publications like Automobile magazine, Car and Driver, The Drive, Jalopnik, Porsche Panorama, and more. Ewing has worked in the automotive industry since 2003. From testing prototype cars in the Arctic Circle to spilling a beer on a Formula 1 driver at the 24 Hours of Le Mans (oops), he's always got an interesting story to tell.

edited by Kathleen Clonts

Kathleen Clonts has worked in the automotive industry since 2014 and has copy-edited thousands of vehicle reviews and stories about cars and the auto industry in that time. Kathleen is the Edmunds editorial team's copy chief and previously worked as the senior copy editor for Automobile magazine.

Get More Edmunds Car News in Your Inbox