Nissan celebrates 60 years in Australia

Nissan Australia has celebrated 60 years of Australian operations with a car show at its Melbourne HQ and adjacent car park, with scores of iconic models gathering from around Australia.

Managing Director Steve Millette was on hand to unveil two all-new 2027 models, the Y63 Patrol and Navara Pro PHEV, to the public for the first time. They were joined by every generation of Patrol and Z, historic race cars and much more.

Whatever your preferred automotive indulgence, there was something to pique your interest at Nissan Australia's 60th Anniversary car show.

Enthusiasts answered the call in fine style, with Patrols, Silvias, Zs, GT-Rs, Navaras and more than a few ultra-rare oddities packing the carpark adjacent to Nissan Australia's Mulgrave headquarters in Victoria.

Highlights included every generation of Patrol being gathered together, something Nissan Australia communications head Steve Coughlan believed was a world first. Plus there was every generation of Z sitting side-by-side, a trio of early Prince Skylines, a first-generation Silvia, one of few surviving Pulsar ET Turbos, immaculate 160- and GQ-Series Patrols and plenty of GT-Rs, from R32 to R35.

Nissan Australia Managing Director Steve Millette explained the rationale behind investing in the event, having just given the public their first look at the forthcoming Y63 Patrol and Navara Pro PHEV: "It's a very important milestone for us. Some of our nameplates have been here [longer], but the actual inauguration of our company was 60 years ago, September 6, 1966, and we felt it was an important milestone because we're just on that transition point right now, completely renewing our portfolio.

"We know we have a very loyal and passionate customer base so to celebrate this at our headquarters in Melbourne it's fantastic, we've got people driving from all over Australia to show us their GT-Rs and their Patrols and their Zs, so we felt it was a great opportunity to get everybody together."

Nissan's Australian sales have fallen precipitously over the past decade. Having shifted 66,826 vehicles in 2016, this year it will struggle to achieve 40 per cent of that, with 19,212 sales to the end of September, a 33.3 per cent decline over 2025.

To stem the tide, it's preparing an aggressive new model rollout, starting with the Y63 Patrol and followed by the Navara Pro PHEV and all-new X-Trail in 2027, as well as a new mid-size electric SUV, while the smaller Kicks SUV is also being evaluated.

Earlier in 2026, Nissan globally surprised analyst expectations by reversing recent trends and announcing a 58-billion-yen profit (~A$500m).

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