Nissan’s BYD Shark 6 rival one step closer to Australia
The first plug-in hybrid Nissan to be sold in Australia is set to be announced imminently, with short odds on the Frontier Pro becoming its latest ute offering.
Nissan Australia will this week reveal the first plug-in hybrid (PHEV) to be sold in its showrooms, heavily tipped to be the Frontier Pro ute from China.
In a media release, Nissan said the announcement will take place on October 8, and mark a “significant new step in the brand’s journey in Australia”, with the new PHEV to join its existing range of e-Power hybrids, electric vehicles (EVs), as well as its petrol and diesel models.
Though Nissan has yet to confirm what the model will be, it’s all but set to be the Frontier Pro PHEV ute, given the teaser image features its hero yellow paint colour, as well as its illuminated badge.
While we’re yet to find out when the Nissan Frontier Pro will come to Australia, its local arrival was effectively announced to dealers late last year, while in March, then-Nissan Oceania managing director Andrew Humberstone said it was to be confirmed soon.
The Nissan Frontier Pro borrows its middle name from the long-running Frontier pickup in North America, though it’s also sold in the Philippines as the Navara Pro.
However, the Frontier Pro is built in China through Nissan’s joint venture partnership with Dongfeng, and uses a plug-in hybrid powertrain similar to that of the BYD Shark 6, Australia’s most popular PHEV.
Powering the Frontier Pro is a 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine which gains an electric motor in its transmission, producing up to 320kW and 800Nm combined.
Its 33kWh battery also delivers 135km of claimed electric-only driving range against China’s standards. Importantly it also features 6kW of vehicle-to-load (V2L) capability.
In China, the Frontier Pro boasts a 3500kg braked towing capacity, matching the best-selling turbo-diesel utes on sale in Australia.
It’s not yet known how it’ll be priced, though it’s expected to be dearer than the turbo-diesel Navara, now twinned with the Mitsubishi Triton.
The Frontier Pro is expected to join a growing list of PHEV utes on sale locally, which currently includes the GWM Cannon and Cannon Alpha PHEV, Ford Ranger PHEV (now called the Hybrid) and JAC T9, while Chery is set to launch its Stockman next year.
