Nissan has confirmed the Navara Pro Plug-in Hybrid will arrive in Australia in 2027, bringing a claimed 300kW and 800Nm, mechanical four-wheel drive and a proposed 3.5-tonne towing capacity.
That should get a few ute buyers paying attention.
Australia and New Zealand will be the first right-hand-drive markets to receive the electrified ute, which will also become Nissan Australia’s first plug-in hybrid model.
There are still some big gaps in the spec sheet, including price, battery capacity and electric-only range. But Nissan has confirmed the Australian version will get a different powertrain from the globally announced 1.5-litre setup, following local testing focused on towing, payload and sustained performance.
The Oceania-specification Navara Pro PHEV pairs a 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine with an electric motor integrated into an eight-speed automatic transmission. Nissan quotes preliminary combined outputs of 300kW and 800Nm, both subject to official sign-off.
According to Nissan, its development team evaluated both the globally announced 1.5-litre turbo petrol hybrid and the new 2.0-litre option before choosing the larger engine for Australia and New Zealand. The company says local customer expectations around towing, carrying loads and maintaining performance influenced that decision.
The transmission is also said to provide low-range crawling capability, alongside low-rev highway cruising. Exactly how the full drivetrain operates will become clearer when Nissan releases final technical details.
For Unsealed4X4 readers, the hardware underneath is likely to matter just as much as those headline outputs. Nissan confirms a mechanical 4×4 system and mechanical differential-lock capability, supported by four drive modes and seven terrain modes.
The drive modes are Eco, Standard, Sport and Slippery, while the terrain settings cover Standard, Deep Snow, Mud, Sand, Rock, Wading and Expert.
During local development, Nissan has tested front, rear and combined differential-lock configurations. However, it has yet to confirm which arrangement Australian buyers will actually get.
The same uncertainty applies to the rear suspension. Both leaf-spring and multi-link coil-spring configurations have been assessed, with the final Australian setup to be announced closer to launch.
Nissan is targeting up to 1,000kg of payload and 3,500kg braked towing capacity, subject to final sign-off. Those are the figures many Australian buyers expect from a working dual-cab, but the complete weight specifications will be worth watching. GVM, GCM, kerb weight and towball limits haven’t been provided in this announcement.
The claimed 800Nm is an attention-grabber, but loaded touring performance and the final weight limits will tell us more.
The first prototypes arrived in Australia in 2025. Nissan says five development vehicles have collectively covered more than 20,000km in Australian conditions, with testing continuing.
Teams from Australia, Japan and Zhengzhou Nissan in China have assessed powertrains, suspension, tyres, driver assistance systems, terrain modes, towing and load performance.
Nissan Oceania managing director Steve Milette says Australian requirements have helped shape the vehicle’s specification, rather than the local program simply checking an existing overseas setup.
Available vehicle-to-load functionality will let owners draw electrical power from the vehicle for work or play. That could be pretty damn useful around camp, although Nissan hasn’t announced the Australian system’s output or connection details.
Depending on grade, available equipment can include a large central touchscreen, digital instrument cluster, panoramic sunroof, and heated and ventilated front seats. Australian equipment levels remain unconfirmed.
There’s also a nod to Nissan’s D21 Hardbody ute, with three horizontal LED elements above the grille referencing its distinctive three-slot bonnet opening.
Pricing, battery capacity, electric-only driving range and final Australian specifications will be announced closer to the Navara Pro PHEV’s arrival in 2027.
Nissan says it will be offered with its Nissan MORE extended warranty of up to 10 years or 300,000km, whichever comes first, when servicing with Nissan and subject to the program’s conditions.
For now, the combination of a locally selected 2.0-litre hybrid powertrain, mechanical 4×4 hardware and proposed full-size ute towing credentials makes this one worth watching.
The next questions are obvious… how much will it cost, how far will it travel on battery power, and how will it perform with a trailer hooked up?
