Nissan Frontier Pro coming to Australia: Plug-in hybrid ute will fight the BYD Shark 6 and lead a China-sourced electric new model attack
The BYD Shark 6 will face more tough competition with the Nissan Frontier Pro plug-in hybrid ute confirmed to arrive in Australia around early 2027.
The Frontier Pro will lead a huge China-sourced electric product offensive in Australia by Nissan, aided by its joint-venture partner Dongfeng.
Also on the agenda are SUVs and potentially electric sedans.
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Essentially, a restyled Dongfeng Z9 built by Zhengzhou Nissan, the Frontier Pro made its global debut at the Shanghai Auto Show in April.
It will form a double-pronged attack on the ute segment alongside the next-generation Nissan Navara that goes on-sale in Australia next March.
Closely based on the Mitsubishi Triton, the new Navara will be exclusively diesel-powered and only come as a 4×4 pick-up with an automatic transmission.
The Frontier Pro will perform low emissions duties for Nissan Australia as the NVES CO2 emissions reduction scheme bites.
It packs a 300kW (400hp) punch and a monstrous 800Nm from its combination of a 1.5-litre turbo-petrol engine and a single electric motor.
Capable of towing the headline 3500kg and wading up to 700mm deep, the electrified ute is claimed to have an all-electric range of 135km.
It also claimed to cover 1046km when the petrol engine kicks, while averaging 6.9L/100km.
Handy features include a long bed and outlets for vehicle-to-load power.
Its local arrival was confirmed in private by Nissan in Adelaide last week to guests at a gala dinner where an example was also unveiled.
Speaking to media before the reveal – which still hasn’t been officially confirmed – Nissan Oceania managing director Andrew Humberstone outlined his plan for a Nissan Australia resurgence.
He predicted a sales rebound would commence for the brand in 2027 as new models come from new sources.
“From 2027 it’s [sales] going to start to become very good,” he predicted.
Nissan’s Australian sales are down 17.7 per cent year-on-year and has dropped it out of the national top 10.
“We are looking at all of the sources of product that we have globally,” Humberstone confirmed. “Certainly Dongfeng is a partner as Mitsubishi is. We have many options open to us.
“Certainly we are looking at all options and seeing what we think will be best for market and we are doing that with our dealer network and their engagement as well.”
Nissan’s China-aided SUV avalanche is understood to include a large plug-in SUV and an electric SUV rival for the Geely EX5.
Like the Frontier Pro, these SUVs are sourced from Nissan’s China joint-venture with Dongfeng.
The JV could also supply the N7 electric sedan and/or N6 plug-in hybrid sedan to Nissan Australia.
Humberstone dropped a solid hint Nissan was interested in returning to sedan segments, which have been well and truly over-run by utes and SUVs in Australia in terms of sales in recent years.
“I think there’s a lot of movement across all segments,” he said. “We’re even seeing more interesting saloon cars now, which is becoming something which 12, 18 months ago was almost not talked about.”
