All-new 2026 Nissan Navara to swap from diesel to plug-in hybrid power as brand leans on Mitsubishi Triton for workhorse PHEV tech
Nissan has laid out the powertrain plan for its Navara dual-cab ute, with an all-new model set to launch in 2026 that will step from diesel, to plug-in power, to a full BEV.
It’s the first time Nissan has laid out its powertrain vision for the Navara – and the first time it has defined launch timing – with the brand ruling out its own e-Power technology in favour of plug-in hybrid tech it will borrow from Alliance partner Mitsubishi.
But first, the brand says, will be a diesel engine, with Nissan’s executives conceding demand isn’t yet there for electrification in the dual-cab space, but that demand will change, as will the regulatory environment.
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“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,” says Nissan Chairperson of the AMEIO Region, Guillaume Cartier
“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.”
The plug-in power solution would be borrowed from Mitsubishi, with the Navara and the Mitsubishi Triton expected to share platforms and powertrains to help reduce production costs. Mitsubishi, Nissan and Renault are part of a broader automotive alliance that allows them to share technology.
Following the plug-in powered ute, and presumably much further down the line, would be a Navara powered by solid-state batteries, which Nissan says have the power to electrify even the heaviest and most work-focused models.
“On the first one we are with Mitsubishi, but the next one we are (still) looking at. Because there is also technology we have in-house, which is solid-state battery, but that will take time. We are piloting it 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,” Mr Cartier says.
The all-new Nissan Navara will arrive in 2026, with the brand yet to spell out timings for its PHEV and BEV versions.
