Confirmed! All-new Nissan Navara launch timing revealed as brand locks in diesel power for hotly anticipated Toyota HiLux and Ford Ranger rival

Australia's ute market is about to get even hotter, with Nissan today confirming that an all-new Navara will arrive in 2026, and that the hotly anticipated Toyota HiLux and Ford Ranger rival will stick faithfully with diesel – at least for now.

The news was confirmed this morning by Nissan's Chairperson of the AMEIO Region, Guillaume Cartier – one the company's top executives, and the man who holds the product keys for Australia.

Mr Cartier says the new Nissan Navara is being developed in conjunction with the new Mitsubishi Triton, with the brand to lean into its strategic alliance to lower development costs and shortcut production timings.

Equally important, the executive confirmed the new model would retain its diesel powertrain – at least for now – suggesting Australia's unique market usage of utes as lifestyle vehicles that tow and travel big distances make the use of diesel a prerequisite.

But that time will change soon enough, with Mr Cartier confirming that this new-generation would Navara would step from diesel to a petrol plug-in hybrid powertrain during its lifecycle, and then to a full battery electric offering when Nissan's work on solid-state battery technology comes to fruition.

"We are dealing with the regulatory aspect, to understand whether it will be passenger vehicle or SUV and how pickup will qualify within that. Which is in discussion," Mr Cartier says.

"We need to answer the regulation, but we need also to answer the customer. The way the pickup is used in Australia is totally different than elsewhere. Because some are using it for work and some for leisure.

"So we need to make sure that if we electrify, how we electrify. I think it will be a two-step approach, first with a PHEV solution, then later on with EV. That will be the two-step approach.

"That's what we're looking at, but first it will be with a diesel approach.

"On the first one we are with Mitsubishi, but the next one we are looking at. Because there is also technology we have in-house, which is solid-state battery, but that will take time. We are piloting at the end of 2024, but that is really the game-changer. If this technology is as successful as we believe, we can electrify cars that are today unable to be electrified."

Not on the table, though, is Nissan's own e-Power with e4ORCE technology, with Mr Cartier suggesting the development cost would be too high for a relatively small right-hand drive market.

Instead, the brand will borrow from Mitsubishi's plug-in hybrid technology, which all-but confirms the next Triton will be also share a plug-in powertrain.