Nissan Navara SUV firming for Oz

Nissan’s upcoming Navara-based SUV is firming for an Australian release after its chances of making it here were originally downplayed.

Confirmation of the Ford Everest rival’s improving Aussie prospects has come during the lightning visit to Australia for the Series 3 D23 Navara one-tonne ute launch by the Renault-Nissan alliance’s global light commercial vehicle boss Ashwani Gupta.

“This vehicle is one of the growth pillar for the Nissan mid-term plan. It will be launched in China and Asian markets and we are studying Australia very seriously for this,” said Gupta, who oversees the development of all frame-based vehicles for Nissan, Renault and new alliance acquisition, Mitsubishi.

“Because of the extreme conditions of usage, we believe the customer exists for authentic, capable frame-based trucks and Australia is part of this study for this.”

Photos of the yet-to-be-launched D23-based SUV – which has been referred to as Xterra and Paladin -- were posted by a Chinese website last November and it is expected to debut at the Beijing show in April.

But Nissan Australia sources have been indicating the vehicle is intended for developing markets and wouldn’t meet local safety standards.

But Nissan Australia boss Stephen Lester has now played down those concerns.

“Any car that you are going to bring into the market has to meet Australian standards, so down the road we will have to look at what the specific specifications could mean and how they could be related to ANCAP five-star,” he said.

“Those questions are ones that have to be answered.”

Lester supported the prospect of the Navara SUV coming to Australia, confirming it was part of a long wishlist of vehicles discussed with Gupta.

“Nothing is off the table so we are looking at it,” he said. “We will work with Ashwani’s group to see what is possible.”

Another vehicle on the list is the full-size Titan pick-up, which Gupta told Australian journalists at the Tokyo show last year was a potential candidate for right-hand drive conversion.

But both Gupta and Lester appeared to play down the Titan’s local prospects because of limited demand in other right-hand drive markets such as Thailand and the UK.

“There is nothing we cannot do from a technical point of view or an engineering point of view, that much is clear,” said Gupta.

“The question comes when we will be able to do it?

“I do agree this market [Australia] has potential for frame-based full-size pick-up.”

Added Lester: “We would support Titan in the market. We will get more time to deep dive with Ashwani tomorrow into what the market looks like and how the market sets up.

“It’s an opportunity.”

Lester said it was too early to say whether a RHD Titan would be built ex-factory or be converted locally as per RAM and Chev Silverado.

As separately reported, Lester and his team pushed the concept of a Ford Ranger Raptor-rivalling Navara to Gupta.

They are also understood to have asked, yet again, for a turbo-diesel engine in the Y62 Patrol.