Nissan Australia turns 60 as Navara Pro PHEV makes public debut

Key takeaways

• Nissan Australia marked 60 years with more than 200 cars at Mulgrave
• The Navara Pro PHEV ute made its Australian public debut, due in 2027
• Pricing, battery size and EV range for the PHEV remain unconfirmed

Nissan Australia marked 60 years of local operations on Saturday 24 October, bringing more than 200 Nissan and Datsun vehicles to its Mulgrave headquarters in Melbourne. The new Navara Pro PHEV also made its first public appearance in Australia, ahead of its showroom arrival in 2027.

Almost all the cars were privately owned and driven to the event by their owners. Clubs including the Nissan Datsun Sports Car Club, Classic Skyline Club of Australia and Skyline Australia helped fill the display with every generation of Patrol and Z.

Nissan has delivered more than 2 million Nissan and Datsun vehicles to Australian buyers since the local company was founded on 6 September 1966.

“Some of these cars ceased production before their owners were even born,” said Steve Milette, managing director of Nissan Oceania.

Navara Pro PHEV makes its Australian debut

The Navara Pro PHEV was displayed beside the new Y63 Patrol and will be Nissan’s first plug in hybrid in Australia. Nissan confirmed the dual cab ute earlier this month with a 2.0 litre turbo petrol plug in hybrid system chosen for Oceania, making a preliminary 300kW and 800Nm.

The China built ute targets up to 1000kg of payload and 3500kg of braked towing. That puts it up against the BYD Shark 6, GWM Cannon Alpha and Ford Ranger PHEV. It will be sold alongside the current diesel Navara rather than replacing it.

Pricing, battery size and electric only range are still to be confirmed.

60 years of Nissan in Australia

Nissan’s local history goes back further than the company. Datsun Phaetons were imported from 1934, and the Nissan 70 sedan arrived in 1937 as the first car to carry the Nissan name.

Sir Lawrence Hartnett secured distribution rights in 1960, and Pressed Metal Corporation began assembling Bluebirds in Sydney in 1966. Full local manufacturing started in 1976, when the 180B and 120Y reached a combined 40,000 units.

The Pulsar, Gazelle, Skyline and Pintara were also built here before manufacturing ended in 1992. Nissan’s Casting Australia Plant, opened in 1982, still makes components, some of which are exported to Nissan plants overseas.

Patrol and Z history on show

The Patrol display ran from the 4W60, which was sold only in Japan, to the G60 that arrived here in 1961. In 1962 a G60 carried geologist Reg Sprigg and his family on the first motorised crossing of the Simpson Desert, charting the route now known as the French Line.

More than 258,000 Patrols have since been delivered in Australia across five generations.

Z fans saw the 1962 Datsun Fairlady 1500, the 240Z that won the 1971 Safari Rally, and the 2026 Nissan Z in heritage Unryu Green. The Z NISMO is now available with a manual gearbox.

One of the rarest cars was a 1966 CSP311 Silvia. Just 554 were hand built, and Australia reportedly took 49, more than any other export market.

An R32 Skyline GT-R also turned up. It won the Bathurst 1000 in 1991 and 1992, the first Japanese car to do so.

Nissan says full Australian specifications and pricing for the Navara Pro PHEV will be announced closer to its 2027 launch.