Nissan Frontier Pro News

Nissan’s new local boss has outlined the direction the brand will take in the face of increasingly strict emissions regulations and changing market forces. Nissan’s Managing Director for Oceania Steve Milette says the first priority for new models won’t be to simply meet emissions targets, but to provide products that customers are asking for. The brand has just confirmed it will launch the (already expected) Nissan Navara Pro PHEV ute in 2027, there’s also a new-generation Nissan X-Trail on the way for 2027. The pressure is on for Nissan to sell more efficient cars to customers, too, as it reached the second-highest place for NVES (New Vehicle Emissions Standard) fines in 2025, an amount totalling $10,763,050. CarsGuide asked if there’s a path out of the NVES challenges facing the brand and if a refresh of the brand’s line-up is on the cards as part of that. “In terms of product introductions, yeah, yeah, for sure,” Milette told CarsGuide. “We have a pipeline, a robust pipeline.” “We can't talk about the details of those products, but all I can say is, it's going to be positive for us because the product resonates with the needs of Australians, and especially from a diversity of powertrain.  “Not just the vehicles themselves and the segments they play in, but the diversity of powertrains.” With the new X-Trail and the Navara Pro, Nissan isn’t confirming a move into any new (or previously served) segments, meaning passenger cars may still not be part of Nissan's plan. “There's some dominant segments: medium SUV, obviously. The utility market, the ute market, is huge. And traditionally, we've been, you know, we've been pretty strong at the SUV segments in general, like from smaller to to Patrol size,” Milette said. “And so I think for us, you can expect that we're going to be introducing products in the big segments that really are aligned with our history in terms of what we stand for, like very capable SUVs, very capable four by fours, innovative in terms of powertrains.  “That's where we're going.” This could point to the Nissan Terrano plug-in hybrid 4WD, and several electric and range-extender or plug-in hybrid SUVs from China, such as the NX7 and NX8. This would give Nissan an answer to the Denza B5 4WD and Toyota RAV4 plug-in hybrid. Nissan’s new addition to the X-Trail line-up, a more efficient front-wheel drive version of the e-Power hybrid system, could be considered a move in the right direction for its daunting NVES fines, but Milette says that wasn’t the primary reason for it. “Two-wheel-drive e-Power is a positive contributor to NVES, but its main purpose is to meet a need of the market,” Milette told CarsGuide. “I mean, 25 per cent of the sales in Australia so far this year are hybrid. Half of those are two-wheel drive, so we've only participated in half of that.  “So I think from a consumer preference, now we're in all of that segment.” “But from an NVES perspective, I think the north star is that as a brand we become self-sufficient… the portfolio that balances the negatives with the positives, if you will.” If Nissan sells more low-emission hybrids and electric cars, it will reduce the total amount of fines brought on by its ‘dirtier’ models like its Navara ute and its petrol SUVs. For reference, its second place ($10,763,050) in the 2025 list of brand fines saw it behind Mazda’s whopping $25,425,850 but well ahead of Subaru's $6,981,750. “But until we get there, we're well aware that we'll have to trade for credits, and there are published numbers. Like you saw, it was a public number in 2025.  “All I can say is that that's not the real cost.” Brands that find themselves with credits (likely through selling mostly EVs) rather than fines can agree to sell those credits to brands that have racked up fines, though Milette didn’t specify where those credits would come from. “For us, it's ‘what does the consumer want?’ We have a very powerful brand in Patrol as an example. If consumers want to buy Patrols, and they do, we're going to sell them Patrols. “No matter what the NVES impact there might be.”

Nissan is set to confirm a new model for Australia on October 8 and it will be its first plug-in hybrid (PHEV). The Japanese carmaker has published a single teaser image showing the front end of the vehicle with an illuminated Nissan badge. Using the teaser image and available imagery, it looks very much like it is the Frontier Pro/Navara Pro PHEV. This Chinese-made dual-cab ute will be a key rival to the likes of the BYD Shark 6, GWM Cannon Alpha PHEV and upcoming Chery Stockman. Nissan says this forthcoming new vehicle has “electrified performance and new levels of capability”. It's also claimed to be "tailored to the needs of Australian customers in a key segment". Additionally Nissan claims this new model has been “extensively tested and tuned for local conditions”. Prototype examples of the Frontier Pro/Navara Pro PHEV have been spied in Australia over the last few weeks. Nissan hasn’t been shy about leveraging its joint-venture partnership with Dongfeng in China and Australia has been identified as a key market. The Frontier Pro/Navara Pro PHEV comes with a 2.0-litre petrol engine and dual electric motors for total system outputs of 320kW and 800Nm. It also offers up to 135km of CLTC-claimed electric range. Both turbo-petrol and turbo-diesel engines are available in the Frontier Pro/Navara Pro globally. It’s unclear whether these are on the radar for a local launch. Beyond the Frontier Pro/Navara Pro, Nissan also offers a series of other Chinese-made models for export markets. These include the NX8 electric and range-extender (REEV) SUV and N7 electric sedan, among others.

Nissan may have finally bounced off rock bottom as the embattled Japanese giant executes its turn-around plans and posts promising results off the back of new model launches. Its grand turn-around plan, dubbed Re:Nissan has seen the company need to take drastic measures to reverse a financial slide into oblivion, including shuttering some of its factories, and turning more than ever to its Chinese joint-venture with Dongfeng for new model launches. It is not just the exciting new Frontier Pro plug-in hybrid ute and successful N7 sedan from China that have shown promising results for the brand. It also posted smaller declines in the last quarter of its financial year both in Japan and North America. Europe and the rest of the world didn’t perform as well for the brand, but make up a smaller portion of its overall sales. The brand also noted that US tariffs had a huge impact on its bottom line for the financial year. The company is predicting a return to an operating profit off the back of new and refreshed model line-ups across all the markets it plays in, predicting a 20 billion yen (a little over 175 million AUD) net income off the back of a brutal A$4.7 billion dollar loss to the end of this Japanese Financial Year, described as “extraordinary non-recurring losses” related to the brand’s realignment according to the company’s CFO George Leondis. CEO Ivan Espinosa said the company was tracking ahead of its goals for the end of the year, as it enters the “final year of Re:Nissan”. The brand is banking on higher demand for its range of incoming new-generation offerings, which in the financial year 2026 will include the NX8, N7, and Frontier Pro as export models from China, new models also from China based on the Terrano PHEV off-road concept and Urban PHEV concept small SUV (many of which are likely for an Australian arrival). Outside of that, the brand will also launch the new Tekton in India, Infiniti QX65 in the US, Elgrand people mover in Japan, as well as the Rogue e-Power in the US and Kicks in Japan. The confirmation of the Kicks launching in Japan opens the door to the previously overseas-only model launching in Australia thanks to its availability in right-hand drive. It could potentially serve as a replacement for the recently-discontinued (and relatively unpopular) Nissan Juke as the brand’s new entry-level SUV. Meanwhile the new-generation Leaf, which has undergone a radical transformation to a crossover SUV instead of a hatchback, has been delayed indefinitely for an Australian arrival, with the brand earmarking competitiveness issues in the small EV space and a focus on mass-market e-Power hybrids going forward. It leaves the mid-sized Ariya as the brand’s sole fully electric offering in Australia. Other new products to look out for from Nissan for the our market include the next-generation X-Trail, due in 2027, which will ride on an updated platform, feature a wider track width and new suspension, as well as feature the latest and more efficient version of the brand’s e-Power plugless hybrid tech. Nissan continues to take a battering in the Australian market, with the brand down 32.2 per cent year-on-year. It has seemingly permanently dropped out of the top-10 in Australia, making way for new entrants like BYD and GWM. By the end of April 2026, Chery was also now in the top-10, ranking eighth, leaving just Mazda (6th), Isuzu (10th), and Toyota (1st) the only remaining Japanese players in the list.

LDV is set to muscle in on the rapidly-expanding plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) ute segment in Australia with a two-pronged strategy covering all bases and budgets. Unveiled in Beijing late last month, the T70 PHEV and Terron 9 PHEV are both expected to land locally sometime next year, though importer Ateco Automotive has yet to confirm this. The cheaper of the two will be the T70 PHEV. As a substantial update of the existing, 10-year-old T60 ute (it may retain the old name for Australia), it is expected to match and even undercut other similarly-electrified dual-cab utes also from China. These include the just-announced JAC Hunter PHEV that starts from $50,000 before on-road costs, the GWM Cannon PHEV that is due in Australia from August with pricing yet to be confirmed, as well as the as-yet-unnamed Chery ‘KP31’ that is being prepared for launch in a few months. Meanwhile, the Terron 9 PHEV will be the more-premium choice, taking on the BYD Shark 6 PHEV that kicks off from $57,990 before on-road costs in Premium grade (though a recently-released Cab Chassis version costs $2000 less). GWM’s larger second ute option, the Cannon Alpha PHEV that starts from $61,490 drive-away in base Lux guise, as well as the coming Nissan Frontier Pro PHEV, may also be in the larger LDV PHEV’s crosshairs. In contrast, Australia’s best-selling vehicle over the past two years, the Ford Ranger, is not even in the hunt against these Chinese alternatives, with the PHEV (imported from South Africa instead of Thailand like the rest of the range) commencing from $71,990 before on-road costs in XLT specification, soaring to $86,990 for the Stormtrak flagship. Despite anticipated sharp pricing, the LDV’s powertrain promises to be advanced, combining a petrol engine and an electric motor to offer both mechanical and electric four-wheel-drive capability. Other PHEV details, including powertrain outputs, battery size and range, will be revealed at a later stage. So, what are the other changes to the latest, facelifted T60/T70 series? More than just a makeover, it appears that almost every exterior panel is new from the windscreen forward and the rear window-back, including the sheetmetal and nose cone. And while the basic centre section carries over, the interior has also come in for a complete redesign, with its restyled dashboard incorporating a sizeable central touchscreen/instrumentation display, mimicking that of the Terron 9. Speaking of which, the latter is also set to donate its 163kW/520Nm 2.5-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine to the smaller ute, replacing the 160kW/500Nm 2.0-litre unit as found in the existing T60 in Australia. Whether the same power and torque outputs also carry through is not known at this stage. The coming PHEV is not the first electrified LDV ute to be sold in Australia. The existing T60 has gone down in history as the first ute to offer a battery electric vehicle (EV) option as the eT60 back in 2022. But stratospheric pricing (from nearly $100,000), rear-drive only (so no 4x4 availability) and low carrying capacity scuppered any chance of success, leading to the EV's discontinuation in 2024. That failure seems to have also delayed the eTerron 9 EV indefinitely. LDV is unlikely to make the same mistakes with either the Terron 9 PHEV or T60/T70 PHEV if/when they get the green light for Australia. Watch this space.

The all-new Mitsubishi Pajero hasn't even arrived yet, and already competition in the off-road space is heating up, with Nissan at last confirming an SUV version of the Frontier Pro SUV that will put a target on the back of 4WDs in Australia. The question is, is the Nissan product about to beat Mitsubishi at its own game? Mitsubishi largely pioneered plug-in hybrid technology in Australia, but the brand has previously ruled out adapting the technology for its diesel engines. Instead, all reports point to the incoming Pajero – which is expected to use the Triton as its base – using the powertrain from the brand's ute. That means 2.4-litre bi-turbo diesel engine and eight-speed automatic, though some reports point to a plug-in hybrid petrol powertrain also being under development.  Nissan, though, is set to abandon diesel, with the ute version of the Frontier Pro adopting a plug-in hybrid powertrain that would make the SUV version among the most powerful vehicles in its class. Its 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine and a transmission-mounted electric motor produce up to 320kW and 800Nm combined. The concept version of the SUV is to be revealed at the Beijing Auto Show, seemingly answering the question of what our market might receive in answer to the US-built (and V6-powered) Xterra. Built in partnership with Dongfeng, the SUV is reportedly built on what the group calls its Star Core platform, which can be paired with ICE, hybrid and EV powertrain options. The Frontier Pro looks set to soon be locked in for our market, with the reports pointing to an early 2027 launch date. If so, that would make the SUV version – which is being developed for export markets – a sure starter for Australia, too. Will diesel or plug-in power win the battle between Nissan and the new Pajero? Only time will tell.

Nissan has teased a new off-road SUV to be built in China as a new global model, essentially confirming an SUV version of its well-received Frontier Pro plug-in hybrid ute.

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. The Chinese-built 2027 Nissan Frontier Pro, which borrows the Frontier name used for the Navara in the US, has a possibility of joining the new Navara here to fill the electrification gap currently seen in the ute space. 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.

Nissan’s Pathfinder large SUV will return to its 4x4 roots after years as a more plush family-oriented model, as part of a new-generation overhaul before the end of the decade. Industry publication Automotive News has reported sources familiar with the program have claimed the Pathfinder nameplate will be split in two, with an updated version of the current car co-existing with a new version, which will return to a more hardcore ladder-frame chassis. The Pathfinder nameplate has a history of dipping in and out of ladder-frame construction, with the first-generation version in 1985 being body-on-frame, the second-generation in 1995 being monocoque, then returning to a ladder frame shared with the Navara in 2004 for the third-generation. Since then, the fourth and current fifth-generation vehicles have been on a monocoque chassis, positioned as the brand’s three-row rival to the likes of the Toyota Kluger, Hyundai Santa Fe and Kia Sorento. According to the Automotive News report, the upcoming ladder-frame Pathfinder will share its underpinnings with the revived US-market Xterra off-roader and next-generation Frontier ute, both of which are expected to feature a petrol V6 engine to go with their 4x4 hardware. The updated monocoque Pathfinder and its ladder-frame alternative are expected to launch around 2029 as a two-prong large SUV offering from the brand. As this plan seems specifically targeted at reviving Nissan’s ailing fortunes in the US, it raises questions of the future of the Pathfinder nameplate for Australia. Two competing factors may affect it. Firstly, current US policy to stimulate vehicle exports has forced Nissan to consider exporting currently left-hand-drive only vehicles from America to Japan, which would necessitate right-hand-drive conversion, and therefore make them theoretically available to Australia, too. On the other hand, Australia’s recently-implemented New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES) which closes the vice on high-emitting engines (like a petrol V6) under threat of fines, would seem to rule out or limit the appeal of importing US models with V6 engines, such as the Pathfinder or US-market Frontier. The second factor is Nissan’s increasing Chinese presence. Its joint-ventures are producing models that could be essential additions to its line-up locally, both from an emissions and sales potential stand-point.  The company’s Australian division has expressed interest in the Chinese-built Frontier Pro plug-in hybrid ute as part of a similar two-prong ute strategy, with the Chinese model serving as a BYD Shark 6 or GWM Cannon Alpha rival, and the Mitsubishi Triton-based version serving as a traditional diesel workhorse. The US-built Pathfinder has struggled for sales in Australia against stiff competition. While it was up 40 per cent year-on-year by the end of 2025, it amassed just 732 units which pales in comparison to rivals like the Toyota Kluger (8098 units), Mazda CX-80 (3851 units), Kia Sorento (8745 units) and Hyundai Santa Fe (6264 units). Nissan’s Australian sales dropped 21.6 per cent over the course of 2025 as buyers turn to more keenly priced and largely hybrid-powered competitors as well as more affordable new arrivals from China. The Australian situation is not unique and Nissan has promised a wide-ranging turn-around strategy dubbed Re:Nissan, which involves leaning more heavily into its Chinese and US manufacturing, renegotiatiating its alliance with Renault, reorienting its entire model line-up and closing underperforming factories.