Right-hand-drive production for Nissan Titan ruled out: Chances of a factory-delivered Ram 1500 rival now "slim to none"

Australia's hopes for a factory-delivered Nissan Titan look set to be dashed, with Nissan's answer to the Ram 1500 and Chevrolet Silverado set to miss out on a right-hand-drive option.

That's the word from Nissan in Australia, who tells CarsGuide the chances of a factory-delivered Titan have reduced to "slim to none".

That marks a downgrading of Nissan's hopes for the Titan, with the brand - all the way up to Nissan's global head of light commercial vehicles, Francois Bailly - pushing to see the Titan launch from the factory in Australia.

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"While we’re not ready yet to announce the introduction of Titan in Australia, we’re doing our homework to see how we could do that. But the idea is really interesting," Mr Bailly told us last year.

The Titan, recently updated for the 2020 model year, makes use of a thumping 5.6-litre petrol V8 that produces 400 horsepower (298kW) and 560Nm of torque.

Inside, the update pumped up the cabin tech, with a "Command Centre" multimedia setup that makes use of a new 9.0-inch touchscreen that's both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto equipped.

But it seems if Nissan is to welcome the Titan to the local family, it won't be from the factory.

"We’ll continue to pick the conversation up as we can, and we’ll continue to try and pressure the global team on it, but we’ll see where that ends up," says Nissan Australia CEO Stephen Lester.

"I think there is very limited likelihood right now of right-hand-drive being done at the factory. Slim to none, probably. So anything we do will probably have to be done here."

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But the Titan dream isn't dead yet, with Nissan in Australia having previously told CarsGuide that it is open to the idea of left- to right-hand-drive conversion performed locally, much like with the Ram and Chevrolet ranges.

In fact, the brand's recent relationship with Premcar - where the Warrior changes to the Navara are performed - proves Nissan's willingness to work with local partners, and the success those partnerships can bring.

Will they or won't they? Watch this space.