Nissan escalates pickup truck wars with longer warranty

In the hyper-competitive pickup truck wars, Nissan hopes it has a new weapon -– a longer warranty.

Hoping to give its new pickups a boost, the Japanese automaker announced Monday that its Titan and Titan XD full-size trucks will have five-year or 100,000-mile bumper-to-bumper warranties. That's two years better than most of Nissan's major competitors for full-size pickups.

Titan needs the help as its full line of new pickups are about come to market. Nissan sold only 1,143 Titans last month, the lowest number among major makers in the full-size category. Ford led with 65,657 F-Series pickups, Chevrolet sold 54,116 Silverados and Fiat Chrysler's Ram division moved 39,827 trucks, Autodata reports. Even Toyota, with its Tundra, sold 10,474 of them.

With pickups carrying some of the highest profit margins in the auto industry, automakers pay careful attention to their market shares in the sector.

Titan is one of the newest pickup designs in the market. New models usually sell the fastest, so that should give Nissan a nice sales bump when all of their Titan models are available at dealers. The automaker has touted its new Titan as having breakthrough styling, and the XD version has a powerful diesel engine, a big selling point for those who use their truck for towing or heavy loads.

All Titan and Titan XD V-8 gas-powered models as well as diesel and V-8 gas-powered 2017 Titan XD models will be covered by the new warranty. The 2017 Titans and Titan XDs will begin arriving at Nissan dealerships nationwide later this month.

While automakers often offer big discounts to sell trucks that won't move off the lot, Nissan is hoping a longer warranty could help sway buyers.

“We think that extending the same coverage to our full-size pickups, whether used for professional or commercial use, is a game changer in the segment,” said Nissan's Fred Diaz.

Rivals responded by noting how long their trucks last. Ford said it has more pickups that have gone 250,000 than any other maker. Ram said it has "the unique distinction of being America’s longest-lasting pickups."

The warranty announcement came alongside the release of U.S. pricing for 2017 Titans, from the Titan Crew Cab S 4x2, which is listed at $34,780. The Titan SV Crew Cab 4x4 comes in at a pricier $40,700 and the Titan Platinum Reserve Crew Cab 4x4 tops the list at $55,400.

Nissan has played the warranty card before. In June 2014, it initiated “America’s Best Commercial Van Warranty,” which was intended to demonstrate the company’s confidence in its light commercial vehicle lineup. The automaker hopes the same confidence will boost demand for their expanding line of trucks.