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The Chinese-made Nissan Frontier Pro is being considered for Australian showrooms, but there is still a long way to go before it is confirmed.
Electric Cars
Nissan Australia could roll out the Chinese-made Frontier Pro plug-in hybrid ute to local showrooms, in addition to the new-generation Navara, as it looks to protect itself against fierce competition and emissions fines.
“We know what we have in terms of our joint venture out there with Dongfeng, we know what the product is, we need to see if that works or not [for Australia],” Humberstone said.
“The door is open, all things are up for discussion, and it would be remiss of me not to look at all the options.
“They’ve already confirmed that they will export, but the question is to which markets.”
At the time of the reveal, no right-hand-drive versions of the Frontier Pro had been confirmed, but Humberstone revealed Nissan is looking to speed-up its product rollout in future, and if such a model was deemed necessary for Australia, it could arrive in less than 12 months.
“Historically, we were a five-year process and now we are down to a three-year process … to the product you were referring to, right-hand-drive fitment can be done probably almost six months, so the question is, how do you accelerate that if it fits and it works for market,” Humberstone said.
In the Chinese market, the Frontier Pro features a 1.5-litre turbo-petrol engine and electric motor plug-in hybrid combination, delivering a total system output of 302kW and 800Nm.
It also has all the hallmarks of a successful ute model in Australia, offering a braked towing capacity of 3.5-tonnes and 700mm wading depth.
With an all-electric driving range rating of 135km and a combined hybrid range of 1046km, the Frontier Pro would be a natural rival to the BYD Shark 6, GWM Cannon Alpha PHEV, and Ford Ranger PHEV.
BYD’s Shark 6 has proven popular with local buyers since deliveries started earlier this year, notching 6129 sales to the end of April.
However, many buyers flocked to the Shark 6 – Australia’s first plug-in hybrid ute – to take advantage of the fringe benefit tax (FBT) exemption that has now been closed to PHEV models.
While it remains to be seen if BYD can maintain momentum for the Shark 6 throughout the year, its year-to-date tally is nearly double that of the diesel-powered Nissan Navara (3103).
Speaking of, Nissan has previously confirmed the new Navara will be partnered with the Mitsubishi Triton, and promised a plug-in hybrid version of that ute too.
Nissan Australia is unlikely to field two plug-in utes, but Humberstone said its still too early to make a call one way or another.
“[The business case conversions is in the] very early days … we need to look at that, and again, timing is critical because to me, we’re a long way down the path of Navara, and anything else would be in addition to,” Humberstone said.
“But of course, we’re happy to have those conversions and fight for our opportunities in the market.”
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Tung Nguyen has been in the automotive journalism industry for over a decade, cutting his teeth at various publications before finding himself at Drive in 2024. With experience in news, feature, review, and advice writing, as well as video presentation skills, Tung is a do-it-all content creator. Tung’s love of cars first started as a child watching Transformers on Saturday mornings, as well as countless hours on PlayStation’s Gran Turismo, meaning his dream car is a Nissan GT-R, with a Liberty Walk widebody kit, of course.
