Nissan Australia announced the news to its dealers last November, but Nissan Oceania managing director Andrew Humberstone has now confirmed the all-new version Frontier Pro The plug-in hybrid dual cab model will be officially announced for the Australian and New Zealand markets next month.
Speaking to the media at the launch of the new Mitsubishi Triton-based Navara ute this week, Mr Humberstone said Nissan Australia would announce a new sub “in two weeks”.
Asked if he was referring to a hybrid ute, Mr Humberstone said: “Yes, that will be it.”
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The Nissan Frontier Pro was unveiled at the Shanghai Motor Show in April 2025 and is not expected to arrive Down Under until 2027. It will be sold alongside the new Navara as a direct competitor to the popular BYD Shark 6 as well as the Ford Ranger PHEV and GWM Cannon Alpha PHEV.
It will be one of many new plug-in hybrid double cabs launching here next year, including the JAC Hunter and both diesel and petrol PHEV versions of the Chery ute, previously known as the KP31.
The Frontier Pro is a product of the Japanese automaker’s joint venture with China’s Dongfeng and is based on Dongfeng’s Z9 ute, rather than the previous Navara-derived Frontier pickup D40 sold in the United States.
It combines a 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine with a gearbox-mounted electric motor and develops a total power of 320kW and 800Nm of torque.
A 33kWh battery offers an all-electric range of 135km under China’s more lenient CLTC standard and fuel consumption of 6.9L/100km.
Equally important is the braked towing capacity of 3500kg – suitable for the Navara as well as the Ranger PHEV and Cannon Alpha PHEV – while the fording depth is 700mm and off-road capability is guaranteed thanks to a suitable all-wheel drive system with an electromechanically locking rear axle differential.
Nissan’s first electrified small car and world’s first PHEV model will also feature Vehicle-to-Load (V2L) functionality, providing 6kW of power for electrical devices via sockets in the tray.
The Frontier Pro offers selectable hybrid, electric, performance and snow driving modes, a five-link rear suspension and comes standard with all-wheel drive and 18-inch alloy wheels with 265/65 R18 tires.
Inside, there’s a 10-inch digital instrument cluster, a 14.6-inch touchscreen infotainment system and optional heated, ventilated and massaging front seats as well as a panoramic sunroof.
It’s likely that the all-new ute will be sold in this region with the Frontier Pro badge rather than the Navara badge.
Mr Humberstone, who is leaving his position at Nissan Oceania at the end of the month to return to the brand’s European division, did not elaborate on the model.
However, he previously said the Frontier Pro would “absolutely” fit into Nissan’s local lineup, where the Japanese brand’s low-emission pickup would not only provide a two-pronged ute offering, but would also offset some of the diesel-powered Navara’s CO2 emissions under the federal government’s New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES).
“I don’t see any problem with this running parallel to the new Navara,” he said Daily Sparkz in May.
“It’s a question of ‘Does the business case work?’ I think it takes about six months to get a right hand drive. I think it could potentially work for the market.
“What we’ve been told officially – it’s obviously a joint venture with Dongfeng – the car is available for export, we are one of the markets that could be considered. I think it could be a very interesting product for us. I think it could absolutely fit.”
So far the KGM Musso EV is the only fully electric vehicle to join the groundbreaking LDV eT60 on sale in Australia, with no sign of the Toyota HiLux BEV, LDV eTerron 9 or Isuzu D-Max EV yet.
The Frontier Pro isn’t the only Dongfeng-based model on the market for Nissan Australia.
Just as Mazda is using its Chinese partner to supply the electric 6e liftback and CX-6e SUV to Australia, Nissan could eventually offer a range of Dongfeng models here.
Mr Humberstone confirmed the Chinese-market Nissan N7 and Dongfeng S7 electric sedans as possibilities that would bring Nissan Australia back to the sedan market, and other potential models include a range of electrified Dongfeng SUVs – perhaps even one based on the Frontier Pro.
“This is all on the drawing board and needs to be discussed and we have already addressed some of it,” he revealed.
The news comes at a time when Nissan is already very busy. Nissan is in the process of launching its more expensive new Navara with a reduced range of premium double-cab variants, and will soon launch an updated Qashqai range of small SUVs with no pure petrol engines and instead only e-Power hybrid variants.
A cheaper two-wheel-drive X-Trail e-Power variant is due to launch soon, and the next-generation V6-powered Y63 Patrol will arrive in Australia in late 2026, or perhaps sooner.
On the other hand, as we reported last night, Nissan Australia has discontinued the Juke and Pathfinder and put plans to introduce the all-new Leaf on hold, with Mr Humberstone citing turbulent electric vehicle market conditions.
Nissan Australia is hoping for more sales of its high-volume X-Trail, Qashqai, Patrol and Navara models in 2026, after seeing an overall sales decline of 21.6 per cent in 2025 due to the unpopularity of models such as the Pathfinder, Juke, Ariya electric SUV and Z coupe.
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