Nissan is eyeing a piece of the action in the lucrative sport-utility vehicle (SUV) segment currently dominated by the Toyota Fortuner.
Nissan’s US-only Pathfinder could provide some styling cues to a Navara-based SUV.
The chief of the brand's Thai subsidiary said the long absence of such a pickup truck-based vehicle in the Thai auto market has been a thorn in its side.
"It was a mistake in our product planning," conceded Takayuki Kimura, president of Nissan Motor (Thailand).
"Thais like SUVs with good looks and big packages."
With the Navara pickup truck approaching the end of its life cycle, Mr Kimura said it is only logical to build an SUV for the next generation, likely due in 2014.
Although Nissan offers the slow-selling X-Trail for 1 million baht, the compact SUV comes with a smaller five-seat package yet is priced the same as seven-seat pickup-based SUVs.
Moreover, car-based SUVs such as the X-Trail face at least a 30% excise tax, whereas pickup-based counterparts are subject to a flat 20% regardless of engine size.
Global demand for Nissan SUV-based vehicles remains robust at about 500,000 units.
Nissan and Mitsubishi earlier planned to co-develop the new Navara and Triton, but talks have since ceased, said Mr Kimura.
He said the decision to shift some Navara production to Mitsubishi's Laem Chabang plant in Chon Buri will likely be reversed in the future.
Nissan plans to expand its Bang Na facility in the coming years to handle production of more new models including the pickup-based SUV.
At the moment, Nissan and Mazda are the only pickup truck brands not to offer a seven-seat SUV to rival the Fortuner, Mitsubishi Pajero Sport, Chevrolet Trailblazer, Ford Everest and Isuzu MU-7.
Mr Kimura said Nissan is looking into alternative energy sources for its existing models.
A biofuel option running on either petrol or compressed natural gas is now being examined for the Navara and the new Sylphy compact sedan.
Mr Kimura said that Nissan is not interested in E85-compatibility, as the fuel is still hard for customers to find in the country.