BYD Shark 6 beware: 2026 Nissan Navara could team up with hybrid Nissan Frontier Pro in Australia to take on BYD Shark 6 plus Toyota Hilux and Ford Ranger

The incoming D24 Nissan Navara ute may not be the only ute model in Nissan Australia’s line-up for long, according to suggestions from the local arm’s top brass.

Nissan Australia has only just launched the new-generation 2026 Nissan Navara, but there’s an international sibling waiting in the wings to join the Australian-focused ute.

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With the popularity of the BYD Shark 6, it would also make sense for Nissan to offer a rival plug-in hybrid (PHEV) ute here in Australia.

The Frontier Pro is a similar PHEV ute, developed by Nissan’s Chinese partner Dongfeng, which sells it in China as the Z9 GE.

Rather than replacing the diesel-powered (for now) Navara, it seems there’s room for both models in Nissan Australia’s showrooms.

Outgoing Nissan Oceania Managing Director Andrew Humberstone says the strength of the Navara nameplate is just some of the reason there’s scope for the two products to coexist.

“Navara as a nameplate is very strong, it’s like Patrol,” he told CarsGuide. “The powertrains can potentially change, but the product name Navara and its heritage here is very strong.”

“There’s five generations… it’s got a long history. It’s a trusted brand on its own. We’ve built Warrior on the back of that as well, so we have a real Australian heritage with what we’ve done with this one.

“The strength of Navara is something I would not underestimate. If I could use the Navara name or the Patrol name over another name I almost certainly would.”

But with Nissan Australia not yet fully committed to the Frontier, it’s unclear whether the brand will look to bring that model here or wait for electrification in the Navara to be a possibility.

Even if Navara does end up with hybrid (or any other kind of electrification) in its line-up, Humberstone says the two utes aren’t a case of ‘one or the other’.

“I would see them as very different products… if you look at the design. Could those run parallel? Potentially, yeah, there’s no commitment on that product coming in yet, but at the national partner meeting we did discuss it at length.

“We think it’s a great product, there’s lots of investment committed to that product. Going forward the markets will be named that are getting that within the next two to three months. And then once we have that we can potentially share more details.”

Humberstone has previously said - in mid-2025 - he would like to see both models land Down Under, but this more recent suggestion that both would work in the line-up as parallel offerings shows the brand is gathering more information while keeping it on the cards.